University Archives forms part of the Division of Special Collections, Archives and Rare Books of the MU Libraries at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The University Archives is authorized to collect, preserve, and make accessible to the public historical records created or received in connection with the transaction of university and university system business. The University Archives is also authorized to solicit personal papers, manuscripts, and organizational records that enrich the historical understanding of the University and the University System.
Special Collections and the University Archives are in two different locations. The University Archives are located in 703 Lewis Hall, not in Ellis Library.
The University of Missouri Collection is comprised of publications emanating from the University of Missouri System and the Columbia campus administrative and academic offices. These publications include printed and/or published books, newsletters, yearbooks, catalogs, directories, pamphlets, manuals, newspapers, and documents. Manuscript materials are not included. Works by faculty members published off campus are accepted as gifts and purchased as funds are available. The Catalog for 1842/43 is one of the earliest publications in the collection.
This collection is complemented by University of Missouri material in University Archives. While there is some duplication of material, the SPEC-M Collection focuses on published material, while University Archives is the depository of official records of the University of Missouri at Columbia as well as of the administrative records of the University of Missouri System. The University Archives also houses and preserves private papers, organizational records, and manuscripts that relate to the history of the University and the University System.
Documenting the layout of 390 Missouri cities from 1883 to 1951, the 10,351 map sheets in the collection are an invaluable research tool for urban historians, architectural historians, environmentalists, genealogists and preservationists.
The large scale (1:600) offers detailed information on the use made of commercial and industrial buildings, their size, shape and construction material. Some residential areas are also mapped. The maps show the location of water mains, fire alarms and fire hydrants. They are color-coded to identify the structure (adobe, frame, brick, stone, iron) of each building.
Microfiche copies of the maps are also available.
Commercially prepared microfilm of maps for 55 Missouri cities dating from 1941-1992 supplement the collection.
The collection is cataloged. A list of the maps in the collection is available on the Special Collections website. A portion of the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection has been digitally scanned and is available online.
Documenting the ownership and locations of plots of land in Missouri counties, the 111 items in the collection are an invaluable research tool for genealogists, urban historians, and preservationists. This collection is available in its entirety in digital form and can be viewed online.
Boone County Historical Society Civil War Collection
Debates of the 1943-1944 Constitutional Convention of Missouri
Histories of William Jewell College
The Log & Environs: Yearbook of the UMC Forestry Department
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition: The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
MU Agricultural Experiment Station Publications
MU College and Department Histories
MUtation - Yearbook of the UMC Medical and Nursing Schools
Missouri Constitutions & Related Documents
Missouri Student Association Public Legislation
Missouriana Digital Text Collection
The State Historical Society - the Civil War in Missouri
The Tatler - The William Jewell College Yearbook
The Tiger Claw - The University High School Yearbook
University of Missouri Journalism Series
More collections are available at the legacy UM Digital Library and the new MoSpace Digital Library.
