Many items from the Willamette University Archives collections have been digitized and are available online. Some of these digital collections are highlighted below. If you need a digital copy of an item that has yet to be digitized or put online, please submit a request to archives@willamette.edu.
The Willamette University Campus Photograph Collection, comprised of over 2,700 photographic prints, negatives, slides, and copy prints of sketches and blueprints, is a rich documentary resource covering nearly a century and a half of Willamette’s history.
A strength of the collection is the visual documentation it provides of Willamette’s ever-developing campus, particularly the buildings and landscape. Images show groundbreakings, construction, renovations, fires, and demolitions of various buildings. Transformation of the campus grounds, through activities such as the redesign of the Mill Stream and the removal of trees, is also evident. Aerial views of the campus provide yet another perspective of campus architecture and grounds and, to a lesser extent, downtown Salem, Oregon.
The Paulus Glass Plate Negatives Collection comprises over 1000 glass plate negatives of historical significance to Willamette University, the City of Salem, and the Willamette Valley. Otto K. Paulus took the majority of the images, dated between 1914 and 1918, during his time as a student at Willamette University. His brother, Robert Paulus, likely took a proportion of the other images. The images fall into three broad categories: scenes of Willamette University; scenes of Salem and the Oregon countryside; and several hundred studio portraits of Salem citizens
The Vernor Martin Sackett Negative Collection documents campus life and students activities at Willamette University in the 1920s. While usually not the focus of the photograph, many buildings are visible in the background of the images. Sackett graduated from Willamette University 1922. Next to his portrait in the yearbook, The Wallulah, is the comment, "he owns a whole flock of cameras that won't eat anything but embarrassing situations."
The Freshman Glee collection contains planning and publicity materials, sound and visual media dating from 1914 to 1997 and 2007.
The Jim Shull Northwest Artists Slide collection contains slides collected by painter, Jim Shull, of various northwest artists' artwork.
For over 130 years Willamette students have experienced and reported on local (specifically WU campus!), regional, and national events in the pages of The Collegian. This resource is keyword searchable from 1875 to present. Photographs often accompany articles!
The Wallulah is online and keyword searchable between 1903 - 2006. Paper copies of yearbook are located in the Archives and in the Reference Section under "W" on the first floor of the Library.
NOTE: The Archives does not have a full run of Wallulahs. A few years are missing.
The Charles E. Larsen Chemawa Indian School collection is a compilation of Chemawa Indian School and Northwest Native American history dating from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. Materials in this collection document student and employee life on the Chemawa campus. The collection includes newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, handbooks, graduation lists, and historical monographs written by Larsen.
These are personal scrapbooks compiled by Oregon politician Norma Paulus, covering campaigns and legislative topics.
The Nicholsloy Studio collection documents the careers of Sandra and Dave Nichols during the years 1960 to 2018. The materials provide insight into relationships among artists and writers and document the unique art scene of Salem, Oregon. This collection includes mail art, original art, photographs, art gallery promotional fliers and posters, notebooks, digital files, correspondence with artists and writers, original prints and layouts of rebeat (a zine created by Nicholsloy Studio), a collection of zines, and a collection of materials related to the Beat Generation.
