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Ball State University Archives and Special Collections: Home

Contact Us

Main Phone: (765) 285-5078

Email: libarchives@bsu.edu

Mailing Address: 

Ball State University
Archives and Special Collections
Bracken Library, Room 210
Muncie, IN 47304

Website: Archives and Special Collections

Meet the Team

Leo Gillis
Director of Archives and Special Collections

 

Lindsey Vesperry
Digital & Physical Records Archivist 

 

Donna Browne
Head of Archives User Engagement

 

Erin Bretz
Archives Records Analyst

 

Alanna Smollen
Archives Collections Specialist

Archives and Special Collections is available by appointment only.  Click here to complete your registration to schedule an appointment. We value your privacy and will not share your information outside the University Libraries. This information can assist staff in preparation for your visit and provide data for continued improvement of our user services.

Virtual assistance is also available for campus, community, and external researchers: we provide Zoom appointments and email research consultations. 

Please contact the department via email libarchives@bsu.edu or by phone 765-285-5078 if you have any questions. 

Mission Statement

The mission of the Archives and Special Collections is to collect, preserve and provide access to archival, printed and digital resources that support research and instructional needs of students, faculty, scholars and the general public.

University Archives

The University Archives collects, preserves, and makes accessible the records of Ball State University.  This historically valuable material documents the academic and administrative responsibilities of the University as well as the experiences of its students, alumni, officers, faculty, staff, and benefactors. 

Ball State University Archives offers a wide range of records, papers, photographs, printed material, and audio-visual material that document campus life.  Finding aids to archival and manuscript collections and digital resources are available through the links below.

Stoeckel Archives of Local History

Named for former Ball State history professor Althea L. Stoeckel, the Stoeckel Archives contains documentation on Muncie and Delaware County, Indiana, including records of business and industry, churches, clubs and organizations, education, genealogy, government, personal and family papers, photographs, and oral histories.

The Stoeckel Archives of Local History offers a wide range of research documentation generated by various studies, projects, publications, and documentaries concerning Muncie and Delaware County, Indiana. Finding aids to archival and manuscript collections and digital resources are available through the links below. Books on Muncie and Delaware County history are located in Archives and Special Collections and can be found in the University Libraries` online catalog.

Middletown Studies

In the 1920s, Robert and Helen Lynd conducted a sociological study of Muncie, Indiana, that was published in 1929 as Middletown: A Study in American Culture. The Lynds examined trends in the life of a small American city and identified six areas: "Getting a Living," "Making a Home," "Training the Young," "Using Leisure," "Engaging in Religious Practice," and "Engaging in Community Activities." Robert Lynd returned to Muncie in the later 1930s to conduct a follow-up study titled, Middletown in Transition, which was published in 1937.

A Middletown III research project was funded by the National Science Foundation from 1976-1981, followed by Middletown IV in 1999-2000. A six-part documentary series titled Middletown was filmed in the early 1980s and broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service. These studies were just the beginning of a continuing series of articles, books, documentaries, and other examinations that would make Muncie as Middletown one of the most studied communities in America.

Archives and Special Collections holds a wealth of research materials on Muncie as Middletown. Records collected fall into two categories: Records of Middletown Research, which consist of documentation generated by various studies and projects on Middletown; and collections on Muncie in the Stoeckel Archives of Local History. 

For more information about Middletown Studies, please visit the Center for Middletown Studies.

Special Collections

Special Collections holdings range from illuminated manuscripts to material from the late twentieth century. This collecting area includes manuscript and pamphlet collections, first editions of American and British works, fine press printings, broadsides, historic children books, and publications and ephemera from diverse social organizations.  Subject matters include broader Indiana history and American history and culture including John Steinbeck. Books within Special Collections are located in Archives and Special Collections and can be found in the University Libraries’ online catalog.