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College Archives

What Does the Archives Do?

College Archives

Mission

The mission of the Gordon College Archives is to identify, collect, arrange, preserve, and make accessible materials that document the programs, people, and operations of Gordon College and Barrington College as well as rare and unique collections that support the College’s administration, teaching, research, and services. 

To accomplish this mission, the College Archives will:

Provides Access. The Archives supports researchers of all kinds by providing the widest possible access to the materials. 

Collect & Preserve. The Archives collects, preserves, and makes accessible college records, rare books, and special collections that relate to the teaching and mission of the college. 

Protects Gordon's Cultural Heritage. The Archives strives to collect and promote material representing a diverse prospective of the College's history. 

Encourages Discovery. The Archives enriches the curriculum of the College by providing opportunity for first-hand research and discovery of rare texts. 

Stories from the Archives

On the right is a clay tablet found in the College Archives with cuneiform writing. To the left is a portion of a page from the Vining Purchase Book wtih handwritten, cursive notes about the purchase of the tablets and other items.

Archives (Re)Discovers Clay Tablets

In February 2022, student intern Drake Sprowles ('24), helped rediscover two clay tablets in the Vining Rare Book Collection while working on comparing inventory lists of the collection! Dating roughly 2070-1658 BC these tablets are the oldest items in the Vining Collection and one of the oldest items held in the Gordon College Archives. Learn more about that tablets by reading The Bell article

Image shows two vertical, glass exhibit cases on either end of a wall with a horizontal, glass exhibit case in between them. They are filled with books and three descriptive panels are hung centered above the horizontal case.

La Imprenta en la Nueva España

Our newest Vining exhibit is up in the Reference Room. Check it out if you are interested in Spanish language materials, early printing history of Central and South America, and if you like pre-1700s books! These items are incredibly important (and cool) and we have some wonderful engravings, illustrations, and maps on show. You can also check it out on the exhibits page!

Image of the exhibit up in the Reference Room. The panels of all featured alumni are visible with four panels on either side of the wall with black and white photos and four panels in the middle with color photos of more recent alumni. Situated roughly in the center of the wall is the exhibit case with items inside barely visible.

One Body: Preserving a Diverse Legacy

The Gordon College Archives and Multicultural Initiatives Office (MIO) is proud to present a collaborative exhibit celebrating the stories of diverse students throughout Gordon College's and Barrington College's histories. This exhibit features students from 1926-2015 from all over the world. Check out the exhibit in-person in the Jenks Library Reference Room (open during library hours). 

Not able to make it in person? No worries. You can view the online version of the exhibit over on the exhibits page. Have your own story that you would like to share? Visit the alumni page to fill out our oral history form or email us at [email protected]!

Egyptian Sarcophagus Piece

Egyptian Sarcophagus Piece

Did you know that the College Archives has an Egyptian archaeological collection? It includes the above sarcophagus piece and much more. This fragment of a mummy case (or sarcophagus), the protective box that lay between a mummy and its coffin, is likely from the Third Intermediate Period (1070-664 B.C.), but may possibly resemble examples from the 22nd Dynasty (c. 943-720 B.C.) in Upper Egypt in both iconography and style. 

Learn more about this piece and the rest of the collection by visiting our exhibit Traveling through the Archives: Egypt and Arabia Petrea located outside of the Archives (Jenks 217). Or visit the online exhibit
https://library.gordon.edu/college-archives
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