Tate Archives & Special Collections

Welcome to the Tate Archives & Special Collections (ASC) of Illinois Wesleyan University, located on the 4th floor of The Ames Library. 

This department is named in honor of Catherine and Robert Tate, long-time supporters of the University.  Mrs. Tate's grandmother was Caroline Rupert (a former School of Nursing Chair). Mr. Tate was a graduate of the University of Chicago.

       Spring Hours 2012
        Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - noon and 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
        Friday: 9:00 a.m. - noon and 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.    

Appointments during these hours are not required, but please contact us via email or by calling 309-556-1535 to inquire about visits outside of our regular hours or to ask questions about our collections.

Find out about our collections via these links:

University Archives -- all about collections related to IWU's history.

Special Collections -- all of our historical collections not related to IWU.

Digital Commons -- our institutional repository with Research Honors Theses, student peer-reviewed journals and more!

Image Collections -- the library's page with some non-IWU collections as well as links to The Argus, The Wesleyana, Historical Photos, and more!

We've launched a blog to highlight ASC collections and research opportunities. Additionally, the library is sponsoring a Faculty Archives Exploration and Research Award to encourage the integration of archives & special collections into the curriculum.

Other useful links:

• McLean County Museum of History
• Illinois Digital Archives
• Illinois Harvest - Free public access to digitized and born-digital resources about Illinois.
• Other Repositories of Primary Sources
• National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)  
• National Archives and Records Administration - Archival Research Catalog (ARC) is  the locator to search the National Archives’ holdings. 
• Society of American Archivists
• Midwest Archives Conference
• Rare Books and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries ( ACRL ), a division of the American Library Association ( ALA )
• Ready, 'Net, Go! Archival Internet Resources  ( Courtesy of Tulane University Archives)
• Literary Kicks- nonmainstream poetics. It provides information and links undedr twelve "genres," including Beat Generation.
• Electronic Poetry Center - the definitive, comprehensive site on the Web for experimental poetry.
• The Museum of American Poetics - portal for contemporary poetry.
• Grand Canyon Bibliography - The bibliography lists more than 25,000 items produced between 1540 and the present. It includes books, periodicals, serials, maps, audio-visual works, and electronic media in 34 subject areas. Coverage includes the Grand Canyon of Arizona and the lower Colorado River corridor between Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, and the Colorado River delta in Mexico. Greatly expanded and revised from earlier editions published by Grand Canyon Natural History Association.