WIU and Illinois Regional Archives Depositories

I attended an archive program two weeks ago which was sponsored by Western Illinois University. The program was very informative and our hosts, Jeff and Heather, were great. Everyone in attendance (there were 14 of us) seemed to enjoy the day—I know I sure did!

One of the things I learned is that WIU is part of IRAD and is committed to assisting others with their archival expertise. The Illinois Regional Archives Depository at Western Illinois University is one of seven Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) in the state which is administered by the Illinois State Archives. The WIU depository houses county and local government records which have been appraised as having long-term value and been transferred to the Archives custody. The 16 counties served by the WIU-IRAD include: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Knox, McDonough, Mercer, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, and Warren.

Even though this was a program on the Basics of Archives, Jeff and Heather presented us with lots of new information, and we had several exercises to practice new skills. One of the ideas I particularly liked was the form WIU uses to indicate why an item is included in the archives. It's a standardized form that is slipped into each book and the form makes it easy to see at a glance the reason the book has been archived. Jeff has graciously agreed to let us add it to our Library Toolkit and it's now available under Archive Notes for Books (Courtesy of WIU).

I enjoyed the program and appreciated the opportunity to meet others with the same interests and challenges. I look forward to attending future programs sponsored by WIU’s Archives and Special Collections.