Display cases outside of Special Collections, Rare Books and University Archives on the third floor of Irwin showcase old photographs of campus construction. Photo by Natalie Goo. 

ERIKA KOVACH | STAFF REPORTER | ekovach@butler.edu

Butler Libraries will be hosting two special events, including a pop-up exhibit at Irwin Library, on Oct. 15 and 16 in recognition of American Archives Month. 

American Archives Month is celebrated each October, aiming to raise public awareness about the importance of historic documents and records, as well as what archives are — spaces where one can gather firsthand information from primary sources, such as letters and reports. 

Dean of Libraries Josh Petrusa said that libraries not only aim to provide access to this kind of information, but also preserve it for future generations, which has become increasingly important for the department of Special Collections, Rare Books and University Archives. 

“An archive should look to fill a preservation role of historical or cultural importance, and we aim to do both for Butler with our University Archives collection,” Petrusa said. “Butler’s people, outputs and impact on the community should be recorded and preserved for the future, and that’s where we come in. Plus, there are lessons to be learned from the past, and archives preserve those stories — good and bad — for future students to find.”

A pop-up exhibit on Wednesday, Oct. 15, called Archival Perils and Archival Treasures, aims to help those around the library learn more about potential threats to preservation and show off some of the cool finds in the archives department. 

The Head of Special Collections, Annie Benefiel, said she has been busy learning more about the collections as a new staff member this semester and working hard to pull interesting items for the upcoming exhibit.

“For many, if they’re alumni, [what’s most interesting] is going to be university history,” Benefiel said. “But we have more historical items that kind of illustrate the older history of Butler, where we started, how we evolved, our different campuses, how things have changed and what things have stayed the same. We have pictures from the 1920s, we have copies of old Butler fight songs, yearbooks, things like that.”

Many of the unique finds are already on display in cases outside of the archives department, located on the third floor of the library, and are switched out periodically when new items are rediscovered. 

The department will also be active on their social media accounts, particularly on their Instagram @butleruniversityarchives, for Ask an Archivist day on Thursday, Oct. 16. Students and faculty will have the opportunity to ask the staff questions about the department and their items, and catch up on some old photos and items dug up this month. 

University archivist Kyle Stearns runs the archives’ social media pages and stood in as the Head of Special Collections last year, becoming very familiar with collection items. 

“We will have two different options on our social media channels to ask us questions during Ask an Archivist Day,” Stearns said. “The first option is to comment your questions on our main post at Butler University Archives; the second option will be to comment your questions on our story option via ‘Ask me a question.’ We’ll highlight and share the answers for others to see.”

Other opportunities to participate in Archives Month can be found through other local universities and libraries, as well as their social media pages. Collections at Butler are available for all students to explore further in person upon request. 

“When I think of my student experience when I was an undergrad, I didn’t know what archives were,” Benefiel said. “I didn’t know that they existed, and I didn’t know what was in there. I didn’t know until I started working in archives that I could potentially use them for class assignments, for personal interest, just even to come in and look at cool old stuff. I’m very into that now, but I think I would really like for our students to know that even though it feels a little bit hidden, our collections are very much for them.”

Special collections, rare books and university archives can be utilized by filling out a research request or looking through some of their digital collections online.