History
Kennesaw State University Archives
The Department of Archives and Records Management at Kennesaw State University was established in 2004 by the Chief Information Officer to manage the disposition of inactive records and to serve as a repository for materials of enduring value to the university. The innovative structure of the new department reflected the interdependence between records management and archival functions.
Hired as the first University Archivist, Dr. Tamara Livingston developed the core collection of the Archives from records stored in the basement of the Campus Services building and the Library vault, as well as local history donations acquired by Dr. Tom Scott, Professor of History. With rapid growth in the volume of records accumulated and an increase in the demand for services, the department added several new positions. In 2010, the Bentley Rare Book Gallery was moved from the management of the Horace W. Sturgis Library to Archives and Records Management, creating the Department of Archives, Special Collections and Records Management. During that same year, Robert Williams, retired Director of the Library, joined the staff as Senior Rare Book Curator and Dr. Tom Scott, Emeritus Professor of History, became the Campus Historian.
Following the consolidation of Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University in 2015, the Archives assumed responsibility for the university records and special collections of SPSU.
Expanding Horizons
In celebration of its tenth anniversary in 2014, the Kennesaw State University Archives selected the theme, "Expanding Horizons." Each quadrant of the X contains a phrase -- Engaging, Serving, Advising, and Documenting -- which describes the Archives' vision for working with donors and the university to preserve not just traditional paper records, but to capture born-digital documents, websites and media. The KSU Archives actively partners with communities to develop archival collections and to ensure a multiplicity of voices and views in the historical record of our region.
Southern Polytechnic State University
Archives and Special Collections
The first library collection for the Southern Technical Institute was developed in 1959 by Dorothy Crosland, a librarian at Georgia Tech. She was enlisted to assist with setting up the new library, which was managed as a branch of the Georgia Tech Library until 1972. Archival and special collections at Southern Polytechnic State University were created organically as individual items and collections were donated or transferred to the library. It was not until 1991-1992 that archival materials were separated from the general library collection.
The Archives and Special Collections at Southern Polytechnic State University were expanded over the years by librarians who took on additional responsibilities to ensure that the records were preserved. SPSU's first full-time archivist, Elizabeth Keathley, was hired in 2005 to expand access to collections.
Prior to the consolidation, the Kennesaw State University Archives assumed operation of the SPSU Archives and Special Collections in August 2014, with the departure of the last Archivist/Librarian, Erin Grant. With the consolidation of the two universities in 2015, the Archives assumed full responsibility for Southern Polytechnic records and special collections.
