New Online Finding Aids for Special Collections

The Buffalo State College Archives is happy to promote new online finding aids for three of its collections. “Finding aids” are standard archival content lists for individual collections, and include scope and historical notes on the individuals or institutions that originated or were involved with the material. It is our goal to provide patrons with finding aids for all of Butler Library’s special collections, thus improving access to the wealth of local, regional, and campus-based material held at Buffalo State. At some point, we also hope to be able to digitize the material, further improving access and making study of the collections easier for our users.

Although these collections certainly highlight regional, local, and campus history, it will be interesting to see how other disciplines might find useful material within the contents of the collections. For example, while the Andrew Brown Choral Arts material might interest vocal musicians, could the largely photographic contents also be of use to those studying group proxemics or fashion trends? Perhaps the College Club would provide a wealth of material for feminist scholars. The Lit-Mus Collection might be of interest to theater students. It’s always interesting to watch how and where researchers find pertinent material. With online finding aids like these, it is our hope that at least the searching can be made that much easier!

Read on to learn more about these three collections. 
Andrew Brown Choral Arts Collection:

The Andrew Brown Choral Arts Collection documents the installation and progression of various Buffalo State choral groups, such as the All-College Gospel Choir. Headed by local tenor, composer, and Buffalo State instructor of music Andrew Brown, the history of the choral groups and their offshoots are documented. The collection is composed mainly of photographs of individuals, the choral groups, and the locations where they performed, but also includes program notices, activity information, and dedication of the collection, all from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s.

College Club of Buffalo Collection:

Material maintained within the College Club of Buffalo Collection includes meeting and committee reports, bulletins, enrollment rosters, and historical information from about 1914 until 1994. Notably, the Club was one of the first organizations to promote the social and intellectual interests of college-educated women; their history and programs are well documented within this collection.

Lit-Mus Study Club (of Buffalo):
The Lit-Mus (for “Literary-Music”) Study Club is an ongoing African American women’s study group that began in Buffalo in 1922. As early as 1928, the Club had introduced the historic “Negro History Week” to Buffalo, and members remain very active in local charities and educational institutions, having donated significant and useful materials that promote African American literature and perspectives. The collection includes historical information, printed material, correspondence, subject files, and ephemera of the Club from its inception in the early 1920s until the 1990s.