Top 10 Things to Know: UW-Archives

10. We’re right here on campus! Located on the fourth floor of Steenbock Library, the Archives is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:00-4:30! Planning a trip to the Archives? Call 262-5629 or email in advance.

9. Researching a topic related to campus history? Many of our collections are cataloged into the library’s online catalog. Click here to begin a search.

8. Some of our most useful "foundation" resources have been digitized and are available online through the UW Digital Collections Center’s UW-Madison Collection.

7. Our collections include approximately 3,500 films, 1,200 oral history interviews and almost 1.5 million photos. That’s a whole lotta campus history! We can provide digital copies or facilitate viewing/listening to the original item depending on the format and your project needs.

6. Is your department or group celebrating an anniversary? Hosting a retirement event for an honored faculty or staff member? Planning a reunion? The UW-Madison Archives can help! Find out how, here.

5. Although we LOVE working with our colleagues over the hill, we’re not the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS). Located on Library Mall, the WHS archives collects and shares materials that document Wisconsin history. It’s importation to note that their collections do include materials related to campus so check both the UW-Madison Archives and WHS Library-Archives when researching such a topic.

4. We are actively collecting! In general, we collect materials that document UW-Madison, UW Extension, and UW System and Colleges administration history. As faculty and staff retire or move out of office space, sometimes materials of historic value are left behind. Feel free to call us (or share our contact information with colleagues) if you discover something "archives worthy". We are more than happy to meet and review your materials for potential inclusion in our collections.

3. Did you know we have a records manager who works with University departments to curate and manage "official business records" of the University? Contact Records Management or visit for more information.

2. Love social media? So do we! We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more. Follow us from the Archives home page.

1. We love a good history mystery! Got a question? A research challenge? Shoot us an email and we’ll do our best to find the answer. For more information about the UW-Madison Archives, visit our home page.

With thanks to Vicki T. for this blog post.

Libraries to Host Storybooth; Sterling Hall Bombing

Where were you on August 24, 1970?

Beginning this August 23, the Wisconsin Story Project will install the Wisconsin Storybooth in Memorial Library (west corridor) to collect personal recollections of the Sterling Hall bombing. These personal stories will be added to the collections of the UW-Madison Archives and used as research for the Wisconsin Story Project’s next documentary theater project which will be based on the Sterling Hall event and the era of protest in Madison that preceded it.

The booth will remain in Memorial Library through August 29 and is open to the public. Representatives from the partnering units of the UW‐Madison Oral History Program and the Wisconsin Story Project will be on hand to assist community members with sharing and recording their stories.

About UW‐Madison Libraries & its Oral History Program

The UW-Madison Libraries’ staff and resources are vital to the teaching, learning, and research and outreach mission of the state’s flagship university. The campus oral history program aligns with the libraries’ vision by gathering, preserving, and providing access to audio recordings, transcripts, and other related material to people both on and off campus. The program also works with individuals and groups throughout Wisconsin to assist in the oral history interviews and projects.

About the Wisconsin Story Project

Founded in 2008 by Talish Barrow, Mike Lawler, and Christina Martin‐Wright, the Wisconsin Story Project is a non-profit artist collective dedicated to the gathering and creative-sharing of stories from Wisconsin. WSP recently staged its first full theatrical production, Cancer Stories, in The Playhouse at the Overture Center. It hosts monthly Storyshares, live storytelling events at The Project Lodge in Madison, and also produces a semi‐regular podcast called the Wisconsin Storycast, available on iTunes or at wisconsinstory.org.

About the Storybooth

Built with the generous support of the Spring Green Area Arts Coalition and American Players Theatre, the Wisconsin Storybooth debuted as part of an art installation called Cancer Stories…Art in the Playhouse Gallery of the Overture Center in May 2010. It will next be used at the annual event for the charity organization 4PeteSake in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and then be used to collect local memories of the Sterling Hall bombing of 1970 during the fortieth anniversary of the event.

Of related interest, visit the Campus Voices page (Oral History Program and UW Digital Collections)
and History of 20th Century Protests & Social Action at UW-Madison (UW-Madison Archives)

With thanks to Troy Reeves, Head, Oral History Program, for supplying this blog post.

Forest Products Oral History

The UW-Madison Oral History Program, in collaboration with the Forest Products Laboratory and the UW Digital Collections Center has launched a new web presentation of oral histories that celebrates the centennial anniversary of the lab and documents its history as a leading research facility dedicated to the study of wood and its judicious use as a renewable resource.

Through audio recordings and transcripts, the narrators (current and former staff) share their anecdotes and perspectives about the history and research of the lab. Visitors to the site will be able to browse or search the oral histories and listen to the recorded interviews.

US Forest Products Lab Centennial Oral History Project