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In an article published in South Dakota History on December 27, 1989, Governor George S. Mickelson reflected on the first hundred years of South Dakota as a State. Governor Mickelson remarked that President Benjamin Harrison signed proclamations in 1889 forming four states: South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington. To commemorate the 100th birthday of South Dakota, the South Dakota Centennial Commission created a vision for grass roots, volunteer-directed groups o

Thursday, April 18, 20244:00-6:00pm IDW 3rd Floor 321Join us for refreshments, guided tours, interactive stations and guest speakers.

There is a new display outside of the Archives and Special Collections. It features a Black Hills map by Amos Bad Heart Bull and a Black Hills tourist map.

The national woman suffrage story ultimately became a success because of the success of suffragists at the state and local levels. Next year, as we celebrate a century since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, it is important to remember the significance of the state and local stories as well. Simultaneously the most fun and […]

April is National Poetry Month, and the Archives and Special Collections is celebrating with two exhibits on the 3rd floor of ID Weeks. At the top of the main staircase sits a small exhibit containing samples from Linda Hasselstrom, James Foley, and Kathleen Norris; with art by Ed Colker accompanying Norris’s work. Linda Hasselstrom’s works […]

Archives and Special Collections has recently received a 1964 letter written by author Mari Sandoz about the two Sitting Bulls living contemporaneously. They were not one person as sometimes conflated by newspaper men and historians. The letter contains some of her evidence and refers the reader to her book Hostiles and Friendlies for the entire […]

Stop by the Archives and Special Collections where we have on display children’s literature from the Mahoney Music Collection. In addition to possessing great illustrations, these books enhance music vocabulary and music appreciation, introduce famous composers and musicians, and/or educate on musical concepts like rhythm and melody.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the I.D. Weeks Library building, the Archives and Special Collections has organized a special exhibit to display the changes of the USD library through the years, from the beginning of the university in 1882 through today. The first exhibit on the second floor of I.D. Weeks focuses on […]

Growing up just a half hour away from Mt. Rushmore, I can tell you that the beauty and grandeur is as great as the hype about it is. Though as a Rapid City native I have not visited the monument as often as one would guess, really I can count on my hands and feet […]

The Osborne Collection of Early English Children’s books, were donated by Edgar Osborne, to the Toronto Public Library after he visited the library in 1934. He was so impressed with their children’s program that he donated 2,000 books to the library. Since then the collection has grown into a large collection of over 80,000 children’s […]

The Allan H. Schell Collection of Campaign Buttons, Pins, And Political Ephemera was created by Allan H. Schell, and chiefly contains political pins, buttons, posters, pennants, and ephemera related to United States and South Dakota political positions in the 20th century. Pins from US Presidential and SD Gubernatorial campaigns are on display in the […]

Herbert S. Schell Annual Lecture in History is Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015, in Farber Hall at 7:00 pm. The presentation is “Crescent City Girls: the Jim Crow Justice System and Black Girlhood in New Orleans” by LaKisha Simmons. She is an assistant professor of global gender studies at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. The lecture […]

The Archives and Special Collections invites you to view our display featuring military-related pieces from the William J. Janklow Papers. Items now on display include: • Marine Corps Jacket, two USMC lapel pins, and business cards from Governor and Congress • Longlive Friendship Plaque, gifted to Janklow by the Republic of […]

The Archives and Special Collections invites you to check out our new display featuring pieces from the Mahoney Music Collection. Items now on display in front of the Archives include: Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1st edition The Strad, Vol. 1 Portraits of Musical Celebrities, from Steinway & Sons (showing a testimonial from […]

A Postcard Collection from the University of South Dakota’s Archives The USD Archives and Special Collections is home to many unique holdings from South Dakota’s past. This on-line exhibit, Greetings from South Dakota, is a compilation of 27 postcards rendering images from throughout the state. As a part of our Chilson Collection, this group of […]

Are any of your favorite books set in an archive or a rare book library? Do they involve characters doing archival research? Here are a few of my favorite fiction books that feature archives or rare books.

Next week, outside the Archives and Special Collections, we will be exhibiting material from the C.B. Kennedy Papers in the display case on 3rd floor. This collection contains correspondence and souvenirs from Cornelius B. Kennedy, a businessman and circuit judge who moved to Canton, South Dakota in 1849. Also in the collection are manuscripts, drawings, and […]