Author: Thomas A. Bremer

The North Dakota Library Assocation's Technical Services Roundtable compiled a list of the types of materials or special collections libraries in the state were preserving.  The following is the final summary.

Bismarck State College

They are currently formulating plans for an institutional archive.

Fargo Public Library

They have a North Dakota collection, which is by or about North Dakotans or North Dakota.  They have some old Fargo photographs which are being stored at the Institute for Regional Studies.

Grand Forks Public Library

They collect fiction and non-fiction works of popular, classic, and historical works.  The Myra Foundation has funded a collection of books and periodicals relating to horticultural and agricultural concerns.  The reference collection includes current and historical maps and atlases, plat maps of area counties, various English language dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, U.S. and N.D. history, and genealogy.  There is a special emphasis on North Dakota materials, local businesses and organizations, and local personalities.  They have the Grand Forks Herald from its inception, as well as some other early Grand Forks county publications.  Unique and historical materials relating to Grand Forks and North Dakota are maintained in the Grand Forks Room.

Jamestown College

They collect children's literature, some materials regarding regional poets, and materials on Presbyterians in North Dakota.  They are in the process of trying to organize a local history collection, have the papers of Edna Lamoore Waldo (Louis L'Amour's sister), and about 60 years' worth of programs from the Opera House.

Legislative Council Library

They organize, house and preserve records of both interim and standing committees.  Their materials provide the single complete source of documents necessary for researching legislative intent.

Mayville State University

They have back issues of the local newspaper, the Traill County Tribune dating from Nov. 4, 1937 to the present.

Minot High School Central Campus

They have a complete collection of high school annuals.

Minot State University

They collect materials on Minot, Ward County, and north central North Dakota including oral histories of North Dakota.  Their special collections include: Brynhild Haugland collection; Red & Green; Beaver (Minot State University yearbook); Minot State University undergraduate &graduate catalogs, Alumni directories, NCA & other accrediting reports; Prairie flower (Rotary club of Minot); Comprehensive annual fiscal report, Annual Budget, Revised ordinances of Minot, and Minot city directories.

North Dakota State College of Science

They archive materials that deal with the history and operation of NDSCS as an institution.  These materials are not currently entered on ODIN.

North Dakota State Library

They retain the "last copy in North Dakota" of materials about North Dakota or North Dakota people or emanating from people with North Dakota ties.  They also collect fiction and non-fiction of selected materials which is the last copy.

North Dakota State University Libraries

Institute for Regional Studies

The Institute for Regional Studies was founded in 1950 and has been actively developing an archive of primary and secondary resources regarding North Dakota and the region.  The manuscript and archival collections document a wide spectrum of the activities of North Dakotans, from the beginning of settlement to the present.  Among its major collecting areas are agricultural development, particularly the bonanza farming era; the everyday life of the early pioneers, the era of the Nonpartisan League; and the women of North Dakota as seen in their personal papers and varied organizations.  Also documented are the lives and works of North Dakota literary figures, our many ethnic groups such as the Germans from Russia and Norwegians, and the development of an urban society through City of Fargo records.  Photographs have always been a collecting focus of the Institute, and today more than 50,000 items are preserved.  The visual images preserved touch upon almost every aspect of North Dakota life.  The Institute also attempts to collect all historical publications related to North Dakota.  The 5,000-volume plus collection includes county, community, church, family and business histories.  As well, collecting is done of atlases, periodicals, maps, musical recordings, broadsides, and literary works by North Dakotans.

NDSU Archives

The NDSU Archives, established in 1971, serves as the official repository for the historically enduring records of North Dakota State University.  The Archives consists of non-current official and unofficial records, publications, and information pertaining to the University's administrative offices, academic departments and faculty, extension service and agricultural experiment station, student organizations, and the University Community.

State Historical Society of North Dakota

They collect and retain forever records of the State and state agencies, historical manuscript collections, all newspapers published in the State, all State sponsored publications, whether monographs, serials or periodicals, photographs, video news film, posters, maps, recorded oral histories, genealogical publications and any other material dealing with the State of North Dakota, Dakota Territory and the upper Great Plains.  When other libraries in the state weed state related publications from their libraries they are encouraged to send them to the State Historical Society to fill in any gaps which may exist.

University of North Dakota

Chester Fritz (Main) Library

Their Special Collections department strives to preserve unique, rare and special historical materials with primary emphasis on North Dakota and regional sources.  They have six separate collections including: the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection documenting the political, economic, and social history of Grand Forks, the Red River Valley, and North Dakota; the University Archives which houses historical materials relating to the University of North Dakota; the North Dakota Book Collection describes all aspects of North Dakota and its heritage; the Family History/Genealogy Room contains primary sources for genealogical and historical research; the Fred G. Aandahl Collection of Books on the Great Plains covers North Dakota subjects as well as western and agricultural history; and North Dakota State Documents covering the executive, legislative, and judicial agencies of North Dakota.

Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences

They keep current as well as retrospective works in medical and health science materials.  Their special collections include a history of medicine (general and North Dakota) and the Barger collection which focuses on pathology and clinical laboratory quality control.

Thormodsgard Law Library

They have current and historical materials for legal research.  They have all the North Dakota Codes beginning with the Territory of Dakota, session laws, attorney general's opinions, and legislative materials including interim and standing committee minutes.  In addition, they have the only bound copy of the North Dakota Brief Reports of the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Valley City State University

They preserve historical records of the university.  The collection development plan emphasizes education, business, technology, and the liberal arts.

UND-Lake Region

The Paul Hoghaug Library maintains a college history archive, a regional history collection emphasizing local/area authors, biographies and church and organizational histories.  In addition, the library places special emphasis on Irish history and folklore, law enforcement, simulators and computers, consumer health information along with liberal arts through the library's collection development efforts.

Compiled by:
Dorrene Devos, Catalog Librarian
Thormodsgard Law Library
University of North Dakota
Box 9004
Grand Forks, ND 58202
(701)-777-3475