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University of Arkansas History Research Guide

This guide offers a set of resources for researching the history of the University of Arkansas, focusing on the use of University Archives material.

About this guide

Special Collections is a rich resource for materials documenting the history of the University of Arkansas. This guide is meant to be an introduction to the collections rather than an inclusive list.

Information about the history of the U of A can be found in both published and unpublished sources. To search the types of materials listed below, use the search boxes on the main Special Collections main page.

  • Arkansas Collection contains published works about Arkansas or written by Arkansans. University Archives related publications include books about the U of A and reports, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and informational booklets published by the U of A. The search box on the main page searches the Libraries' catalog.
  • Archives and Manuscript Collections are primarily unpublished materials. University Archives collections include office files of departments or administrators, research from faculty members and records of organizations. The search box on the main page searches the collection’s finding aids (guides to the collection).
  • Index Arkansas is an index of Arkansas publications, which includes some U of A publications. The search box on the main page searches the index. Note: This is an index only not full text articles. Most articles can be found in Special Collections.

Select resources to get started are highlighted below

Getting Started with Manuscript Collections

Manuscript collections consist primarily of unpublished materials. Collections containing U of A history originate from administrators, departments, faculty members, students, and alumni. Below are a few manuscript collections which contain a broad range of topics.

View all University related collections by department.

Manuscript Collections by department