Oberlin College Archives Records

Collection

Identifier: RG 41

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The voluminous files document the full range of archival functions carried out by the staff operating under William E. Bigglestone, Roland M. Baumann, and Kenneth M. Grossi, respectively, over more than five decades.

In particular the records handsomely document the acquisition of collections, the nature and level of reference activity, the role played by the unit on the instructional front, and the unit’s ongoing struggle for institutional support to keep pace with the growing demands of the campus community for archival services.

The evolution and maturation of the archival program in all of its manifestations is probably as well documented as any among liberal arts colleges.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found within 1959 - 2024

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

By permission of Archivist only.

Conditions Governing Access

Access by permission of Archivist.

Administrative History

Founded on May 1, 1966, the Oberlin College Archives is an administrative unit authorized by the Board of Trustees at its June 1962 meeting. The Archivist reported to one of the senior administrative offices and outside of the Library from its founding until 2008. At that time the reporting structure was changed such that the Archivist reports to the Library Director.

Over time the holdings of the College Archives have been housed in three locations: Cox Administration Building, up to 1967; Bosworth Hall, 1967-1973; and the Mudd Center, 1974 to present. During the 1990s the College Archives also occupied ancillary storage space on the fourth floor of the Carnegie Library Building.

Between 1899 and the early 1960s Oberlin’s Corporate Secretary served as the “unofficial” Archivist and was responsible for maintaining and servicing institutional records. Non-institutional records, often referred to as “Oberliniana,” were kept by the College Library. George Morris Jones, 1899-1938, and Donald M. Love, 1938-1962, served as secretary and archivist before a professional archivist was employed. William E. Bigglestone served as the first archivist (May 1, 1966—July 31, 1986). He was succeeded by Roland M. Baumann (January 1, 1987—September 30, 2008), and by Kenneth M. Grossi (2008 to present).

For additional details on the movement to establish an Archives and on the tenures of Bigglestone and Baumann, respectively, readers should consult the Archives’ annual reports, 1966 to 1999, and two written pieces: Roland M. Baumann, “Oberlin College and the Movement to Establish an Archives, 1920-1966,” The Midwestern Archivist, 13 (1988): 27-38; and Lisa Hicks, “The Development of the Oberlin College Archives, [1966-1986],” which was a paper submitted to the Kent State University School of Library Science in fulfillment of Ms. Hicks’ 1991 M.L.S. Degree. This unpublished paper is filed in RG 21, “Oberlin File.”