The Emporia State University Special Collections & Archives recently opened their exhibit entitled “Objects of Interest: Archival Materials from Art to Textiles” in the William Allen White Library Exhibit Hall. 

The exhibit, to put it simply, is an overview of different kinds of materials that can be found in archival collections. 

“So like the title kind of indicates, we’ve got artwork, we’ve got textiles, books, paper documents, audio-visual materials, photos, and other materials that do not fit in any of those categories,” said Library & Archives Public Service Coordinator Rebekah Curry.

Likewise, the exhibit showcases many different items found in the Special Collections & Archives. Many of these historical items are from ESU’s past.

“Our collections are largely focused on ESU history,” explained Curry. “That’s kind of our main responsibility- to preserve and provide access to the records of ESU.”

Some artifacts, however, come from the university’s Special Collections, which holds materials from all over the world. According to Curry, these items “serve the research interests of people (at ESU).”

The materials found in the University Special Collections & Archives come from ESU’s departments, Registered Student Organizations, alumni, and more as donations. Recently, for example, they have received large donations from the ESU Theatre Department and ESU Facilities.

Curry indicated that showcasing a variety of materials that may or may not be related to ESU is important in order to give observers more insight into what the archives has to offer. 

“A lot of people maybe aren’t super knowledgeable about archives,” she said. “Like, everyone knows what the library is, but not everybody knows what archives are, and I think, in tandem with that, people don’t necessarily realize the variety of what archives can have.”

The exhibit hall, which is located on the first floor of WAW Library outside room 119, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Objects of Interest” will be on display at least through the semester and is open to the public. 

Curry said, “… for just about any research interest, or even just a personal interest that you have, you can probably find something in the archives that will relate to that.”