Archives and Special Collections
A Guide to Averett University's Archives and Special Collections.
Large Archival Collections
Historic Newspapers
(scroll to bottom of page for links to Danville-specific historic papers)
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Virginia ChronicleA collection of digitized historic newspapers from the state of Virginia.
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Digital NC - NewspapersA collection of digitized historic newspapers from the state of North Carolina
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Chronicling AmericaThe Library of Congress' digital collection of historic newspapers from across the nation.
State and Regional Cultural History
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Library of VirginiaThe official state repository for Virginia historical materials.
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WSLS TV News Archive (Library of Virginia)A collection of more than 12,000 news segments from 1951-1971
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Virginia MemoryCentral web page for digital history collections from the Library of Virginia
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Virginia Center for Digital HistoryProjects from the University of Virginia's Center for digital historical scholarship. Includes the 'Mapping Local Knowledge' Project on the Danville Civil Rights Movement.
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H. Lee Waters Film Collection (Duke University)Silent films documenting communities in North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, from 1936 to 1942.
U.S. Southern Political and Cultural History
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Documenting the American SouthUNC - Chapel Hill's digital collections of Southern history.
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Digital Library of AppalachiaDigital collections from the members of the Appalachian College Association.
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Duke Digital CollectionsDigitized historic artifacts from Duke University's Archives and Special Collections.
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Making of AmericaCornell University collection of historic documents from the antebellum period thru reconstruction. Includes the complete 130 volume series "War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies," among many other items.
U.S. Government Documents
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Google Patent SearchSearchable archive of digitized U.S. Patents provided by Google.
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FamilySearch.orgProvides free access (with account creation) to a variety of government documents useful in genealogical work, including the U.S. Census.
Other Materials for U.S. Cultural Research
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Media History Digital LibraryDigitized trade journals and popular press magazines about radio, film, television, and theater.
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Home Economics ArchiveCornell University digital collection of historic magazines and books related to home economics
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Baldwin Library of Historical Children's LiteratureThe University of Florida's digital collection of historic children's books.
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UCSB Cylinder Audio ArchiveUC - Santa Barbara's digital collection of historic wax cylinder recordings.
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Historic American Sheet MusicDuke University's digital archive of historic American sheet music
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National Screening Room (Library of Congress)More than 500 early film and television recordings, including numerous early Edison Company films.
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Feature Films from Archive.orgThousands of early film and television recordings, streaming for free
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American Archive of Public BroadcastingCountless hours of publicly funded radio and television material streaming for free. Be sure to check out the collection "Virginia Public Media"
Single Items and Small Archival Collections
Averett-Related Items and Collections
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C.F. James Civil War LettersA small collection of digitized civil war letters written by future Averett President C.F. James.
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Interview - Faculty - Robert MarshStorycorps interview with former Averett art professor Robert Marsh and his wife Sandra
Danville-Related Items and Collections
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Sanborn Maps for Danville, VA - 1886-1953Fire Insurance maps; useful for historical research as they provide detailed location information for addresses and businesses. For a quick tutorial on using Sanborn Maps: Click here.
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Roanoke Baptist Union Monthly Newspaper (misc issues 1888-1914)The Baptist Union was a monthly Danville newspaper specifically for the Baptist community. Its contents include material on Roanoke Female College and Danville events of interest to Baptists.
To browse all available issues, click here for issues from 1888-95, and here for issues from 1895-1914.