CSU Archives > About Our Collection > Archival Collections

Formats and Item Types Housed in the CSU Archives

Manuscript Collections

The Manuscript Collections include over 150 collections comprising nearly 2000 linear feet of material. The Manuscript Collections have two main emphasis areas: the Columbus State University Archival Collection and the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Collections.

Columbus State University Archival Collection

The Columbus State University Archival Collection serves as the institutional memory of the campus and actively collects the following materials:

• Student publications, including the annual, student newspaper, and literary magazine.
• University catalogs, schedule books, student handbooks, campus telephone directories, staff directories, weekly news bulletins, alumni newsletters, press releases, and other materials produced for public consumption by the university.
• Governing and administrative documents, including Faculty Senate Minutes, committee minutes, search committee records, accreditation self-study reports, departmental meeting minutes, and documents relating to faculty organizations.
• Materials relating to student academic, athletic, and social achievement, including items which document: student clubs and organizations, individual student achievements (such as Who's Who, All-American, etc.), and social fraternities and sororities.
• Photographs, videos, sound recordings, and other printed matter which document campus life and events.  Some photographs are available on the CSU Historical Collection website.
• Selected student papers in the area of local history and culture, as well as research on the university.
• Correspondence of administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
• Published works by faculty members, alumni, and students.
• Individual papers of faculty members which deal directly with campus life.
• The Columbus College Scrapbook, which is currently collected as CSU In the News.
• Master's, Specialists, and Honors Theses.

The collection does not include sensitive records such as student or personnel files. That information falls under the purview of the campus Records Manager.

Chattahoochee Valley Historical Collections

The Chattahoochee Valley Historical Collections focus on the city of Columbus and the surrounding Chattahoochee Valley, and major emphasis areas include the following:

• Papers of individual residents or citizens.
• Records of businesses.
• Records and ephemera of local clubs and organizations.
• Records of non-profit organizations.

Rare Books

The Rare Books collection comprises approximately 150 linear feet of materials and is grouped into three categories: the A.H. Chappell Collection, the Edward Shorter Collection, and Rare Books General Collection. A minority of these materials are cataloged and searchable through GIL, the online catalog of Columbus State University.

• The A. H. Chappell Collection consists of a finite number of volumes owned by the Chappell Family, a prominent Columbus Family. Although the volumes do not focus on Columbus and the surrounding area, the collection is preserved intact because it represents the personal library of a nineteenth century Columbus attorney, which was used by the entire family for educational and research purposes. Titles in this collection focus on law, literature, history, politics, and geography. Materials are not added to this collection.
• The Edward Shorter Collection consists of a finite number of rare books collected by Edward Shorter, a resident of Columbus and past Director of the Columbus Museum. In 1976 Shorter donated over one hundred books, which focus primarily on the humanities, to the college. Materials are not added to this collection.
• The Rare Books General Collection consists of older books which are rare or focus on the history of the book. In general, printed works that do not focus on the history of Columbus are not solicited; however, non-local rare or unique books may be added to this collection when included in other incoming collections.

Local History and Culture Reference Collection

The Local History and Culture Reference Collection is comprised of primary and secondary source monographs about Columbus and the surrounding region and consists of 48 linear feet of material. All of the materials in this collection are catalogued and searchable through GIL, the online catalog of Columbus State University. Included in this collection are:

• Monographs that focus on the history, culture, and environment of Columbus, Georgia.
• Monographs that focus on the history, culture, and environment of the surrounding Chattahoochee Valley, including the cities of Phenix City and Cusseta. Also included are volumes which focus on the Chattahoochee River.
• Monographs by Columbus authors, including those written by Columbus natives living elsewhere or by persons physically residing in Columbus or the surrounding area.
• General historical works about Georgia.
• General historical works about Alabama.

Please note that the Archives attempts to be comprehensive in its collection of works on Columbus, but the general historical works on Georgia and Alabama are selective general works that support research on Columbus and the surrounding area.