A Peek into the UHart Archives for National Archives Day

For National Archives Day, University of Hartford Archivist Sean Parke shares some of his favorite collection items. 

Some of the collection items I’m most excited about (and think everyone should know about) include: 

1. Yearbooks: These are great windows into what the University, its schools, and campus life were like at different times throughout our history. I particularly like the yearbooks from the late 1960s through the 1970s. They are some of the most unique and creative yearbooks I’ve ever seen. You can view some of our yearbook collection online here.  
2. Student Newspapers: These newspapers do a great job of documenting the activities on campus, as well as the issues affecting students off campus. While other resources like university newsletters, magazines, UNotes, etc. also record activities on campus, student newspapers provide a unique student perspective that can be hard to find elsewhere, particularly prior to 1992. You can access digitized newspapers from 1926-1972 in our digital repository here.
3. STN2 videos: This collection has been a recent addition to the Archives. In Feb. 2021, STN2 transferred its collection of tapes including newscasts and campus events from 1992-2015. In total, the collection consists of over 1,100 tapes. Since then, born-digital newscasts from 2012 to the spring of 2022 have been added to the collection. Over the past summer, a small sample batch of these tapes was also digitized (with more projects to follow). Like the newspapers, these videos provide additional insight into student life and coverage of events. You can view some of the videos here.  
4. Elemer Nagy Collection: Elemer Nagy was the director of the Hartt Opera from 1942-1971. He was most known for his set and costume designs, including large scenery slides that he designed for projected scenery. The beauty of this collection can be appreciated by just about anyone, not just fans of opera or design. A small portion of the designs have been digitized and can be accessed here.  

There are so many other wonderful collections that our community should know about. If you are interested in knowing more about the Archives, you can search our finding aids or our digital repository. Please feel free to contact archives@hartford.edu with any questions.