*Post written by Mona Meyer, Archives and Special Collections Metadata Librarian.

University Archives and Special Collections

3rd floor of the David L. Rice Library

In the summer of 1972 the Lilly Endowment, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana awarded the then Indiana State University Evansville a three-year grant to establish an archival project for the acquisition, preservation and processing of regional material. At the end of the third year the University was to assume responsibility for continuing the growth of the Special Collections.  It started with just a few regional history books on Indiana from the library’s own collection. Today, the University Archives and Special Collection has over 850 unique collections, 800 oral history interviews, 6,500 rare and unique books, and 30,000 digital resources.

Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science

411 SE Riverside Drive, Evansville, Indiana, 47713

Evansville has had a museum since 1906, with today’s location dating to the 1950’s.  This appearance dates to a major update and remodel circa 2014. “The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science houses a permanent collection of more than 30,000 objects, including fine and decorative art, as well as historic, anthropological, and natural history artifacts. Over twenty temporary, regional and international exhibitions are displayed each year in four galleries. The Koch Immersive Theater houses a 40-foot diameter domed screen with 360-degree digital projection featuring astronomy and science programming. Evansville Museum Transportation Center (EMTRAC) featuring transportation artifacts from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. On exhibit is a three-car train. The museum is home to a model train diorama of Evansville.”

USI Art Collection

McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries at the College of Liberal Arts

The University’s art collection is primarily made up of two-dimensional prints executed during the 1970s and 1980s and includes student and faculty work. As the University Art Collection expands, the goal is to acquire a better balance of photography, ceramics and sculpture. The Art Collection Committee develops the collection through its art collection management plan. Students working with the collection learn art management, gallery work and art collection management.

John James Audubon Museum in John James Audubon State Park

3100 US Hwy 41 North, Henderson, Kentucky, 42419“The museum interprets the lives and work of John James Audubon and his family within a timeline of world events. Three galleries chronicle the Audubon story, including the family’s 1810-1819 residency in Henderson, Kentucky. Over 200 objects are on display, including artifacts from Audubon’s Kentucky years, a complete set of his masterwork, The Birds of America, and many original artworks.”

Historic New Harmony

401 North Arthur Street, New Harmony, Indiana, 47631

Historic New Harmony is a unified program of the University of Southern Indiana and the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. By preserving its utopian legacy, Historic New Harmony inspires innovation and progressive thought through its programs and collections. In 1985, the University of Southern Indiana assumed management of Historic New Harmony, encouraging cultural and educational programs, while maintaining historic properties. Within the USI Foundation, the Historic New Harmony Advisory Board supports the mission of Historic New Harmony. Today, as a unified program of the University of Southern Indiana and the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Historic New Harmony realizes its mission of preserving New Harmony’s utopian legacy by inspiring innovation and progressive thought through its programs and collections. This work expands the original intent of the university’s involvement in New Harmony, which was to nurture this living laboratory for ideas – a place where students and teachers, tourists and scholars, leaders and seekers, can come together to experience, explore, and create.

University Archives in Bower-Suhrheinrich Library/Clifford Library

1600 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville, Indiana, 47722“University Archives is the repository for archival records pertaining to the history and operations of the University of Evansville.”

Working Men’s Institute

407 Tavern Street, New Harmony, Indiana, 47631

“Established by philanthropist William Maclure in 1838, the Working Men’s Institute (WMI) set as its mission the dissemination of useful knowledge to those who work with their hands. After 170 years of continuous service, this goal is still at the heart of our mission. Maclure, who was a business partner with Robert Owen in the communal experiment in New Harmony from 1825-1827, was devoted to the ideal of education for the common man as a means of positive change in society. At New Harmony, The Working Men’s Institute was one manifestation of this ideal. The Working Men’s Institute in New Harmony was the first of 144 WMIs in Indiana and 16 in Illinois. It is the only one remaining. Many WMIs were absorbed by township libraries or Carnegie libraries. Yet the one in New Harmony remained. Today, the WMI is a public library, a museum and an archive. In each of these areas, the WMI tries to stay true to the original mission of William Maclure.”