Welcome!

Special Collections and University Archives is home to Iowa State University Library's rare books, manuscripts, photographs, audio recordings, film, artifacts, archival records, and other historical documents. Our collection covers a large range of areas, including agriculture and rural life, life sciences, engineering, technology, and Iowa State University history.

We collect and preserve these materials to enhance scholarship and to help researchers understand the past and its relationship to the present.

We welcome and are open to all who want to see and research these rare and unique materials.

Collection Note: At this time, we are not able to provide access to AV material that has not already been digitized. If the item you are interested in has already been digitized, we can work on getting that material to you.

Upcoming Closures:

The reading room will be closed on Thursday, May 2nd.


Decorative icon for CARDinal  of CARDinal's home page links to CARDinal home page

Decorative icon photograph of two white female students close up viewing primary source documents links to Instruction request page

Decorative icon for Projects page, links to Projects page, picture of WWII era Curtiss Wright Engineer Cadettes welding