Stewart Library Special Collections
In 1971, the donation of 10,000 volumes of 19th century great works of literature from European and American authors by Judge James Albert Howell established the Special Collections at Weber State. Martie Collett was appointed as the head of the newly created department. The next year, Collet held events around Ogden looking for historical materials to add to the collections. She started collecting items that helped to document the history of the local area with the very first collection being from Mountain Bell Company. During her 13 years, Martie helped to grow the collection by adding numerous manuscript and photograph collections. Collett retired in 1984.
Following Martie’s retirement, John Lamborn became the new Special Collections Librarian. He focused on adding manuscript collections such as the Junior League of Ogden and the Western Film Festival collections. In the early 1990s, Lamborn moved to another library department and John Sillito became the head of Special Collections. During this time, the State Archives of Utah designated Weber State as the repository for historical information of Weber and Davis Counties. Sillito focused on adding to the book collection by adding materials on Catholicism, western novels, baseball and Jazz music. Sillito also added the largest manuscript collection with the donation of Utah Construction Company. This donation led to the hiring of Sarah Langsdon to process the materials in 1999. Langsdon worked on not only UCC but other collections throughout her tenure as a processor. In 2010, with the retirement of Sillito, Sarah became the head of Special Collections. Her main focuses were women’s collections and collecting materials of the everyday people to help tell the stories of Ogden’s history.
Over the decades, the department has gone on to become the repository for materials that help document the histories of Weber and Davis Counties and Ogden City specifically. The book collection has grown to over 40,000 volumes that focus mainly on the local area along with rare and books with intrinsic value.
Weber State University Archives
The University Archives was first created as the Weber State College History Museum, under the direction of Dr. Harold C. Bateman, Professor Emeritus of History, from 1970 to 1974. Bateman began gathering historical documents and information about Weber State College, using his research as background for interviews with prominent Weber State Faculty and Alumni in order to build a history of the institution. The program name was then changed to Weber State College Oral History Museum.
In 1974, the Weber State College Archives was designated the official repository for all non-current records of the College. The decision was made to hire Annette Peel as the College Archivist. Peel was replaced in 1976 by Afton Higgs, as the new College Archivist. Following a discussion between Academic Vice President, Dello Dayton and the Library Director, Craige Hall, about whether to have the Archives report to the Library Director or College Administration, a newly remodeled area in the basement of the library was created to house the College Archives.
“An Archives Advisory Committee was made up of five members with representation from the History Department, College Administration, Alumni, Archives and Library Administration.” At this point, the College Administration began “encouraging campus agencies to deposit materials in the Archives.” In 1977 John Sillito replaced Higgs as the College Archivist, and in 1991 with the change of the institution from College to University, Sillito became the University Archivist, a title he retained until his retirement in 2010 at which time Jamie J Weeks was hired on as the new University Archivist.
Digital Initiatives
The Stewart Library Digital Collections site was created in 2007. The library received funding from the Utah Construction Company to digitize portions of their collection for a symposium. Jamie J Weeks, was asked to split 50% of her current position as Assistant to the Dean, to create and develop the Stewart Library Digitization Department. The library purchased a contract with CONTENTdm, a digital display software program, and the first digital collection went live in 2007. The department developed gradually as new employees were brought onboard. From 2007 to 2020, Digital Collections grew from one fledgling collection to 51 robust collections. In July 2022, the department was renamed Digital Initiatives. In January 2023, the collection was relocated from CONTENTdm and harvested into Solphal, the current digital display software.
The materials used to create these collections are the property of the Special Collections, University Archives, and various community partners in the Weber and Davis Counties. Collections are chosen based on their uniqueness, research merit, potential for curriculum support, and appeal. Copyright restrictions, condition of the materials, and extent of data available to describe the materials also factor into material selection. Typically, collections spotlight historical photographs, journals, old newspapers, letters, oral histories, and other fascinating historical primary source records. Also included, are holdings supporting collaborative projects such as the Digital Public Library of America, GWLA Western Waters Project, History in Your Attic, Mountain West Digital Library, etc.
Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA)
In July 2023, the University Archives, Digital Initiatives and Special Collections departments joined together to form one combined department titled Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA). The departments recataloged and merged their print collections with Library of Congress call numbers. The Reading Rooms were merged into a one-stop location and all staff were relocated to a combined work space. The archives and manuscript collections were relocated to the same floor as location registers and accession logs merged to create a more accessible means of finding records. Currently, SCUA collections include 38,652 volumes of print materials and 12,234.71 linear feet of archives and manuscript collections.
With the inclusion of Digital Initiatives and Digital Exhibits, rich primary sources from the collections were progressively made available online. Digital Collections includes 58 collections with 124,606 items made up of primary sources. The Oral History Collection includes 21 projects with over 1,100 personal stories of the Weber State, Ogden, and Weber/Davis communities. The Digital Exhibits houses 9 exhibits with 690 primary sources.