MISSION

Archives & Special Collections collects, preserves and makes available primary and secondary materials that document the history of the College. Our mission to acquire and preserve materials is coupled with a commitment to outreach and access. Materials are described according to national standards established by the National Archives Records Administration and the Society of American Archivists. The Archives & Special Collections mounts regular exhibitions both in the library and online. We are committed to collaborating with other BCC departments to digitize collection materials and make them freely available online. We host group visits to the Archives for tours and classroom instruction sessions.

ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS, ORAL HISTORIES, AND OTHER HOLDINGS

The Archives house several processed archival collections containing manuscripts, records, oral histories, and photographs, including the Hall of Fame of Great Americans collection. We also have available our digitized holdings of yearbooks, course catalogs and the student newspaper, The Communicator. To search our archival finding aids, oral history collections and other current holdings, please visit the Archives page on the CUNY Commons as well as our Archives LibGuide.

SERVICES

In addition to archiving and sharing the history of BCC, Archives & Special Collections supports effective teaching and learning through:

1. Training students to conduct research using primary source materials
2. Partnering with faculty to create assignments using primary source materials
3. Hosting internships in archival theory and practice

POLICIES

1. Collection Development Policy
2. Archival visits – We are open (by appointment) to CUNY administrators, faculty and other staff members, students and others outside of CUNY. All requests need to be made by email.
3. Instruction & Outreach – In addition to archival processing, the department handles requests for archival research instruction for both students and faculty, as well as individual visits. All requests need to be made by email.
4. Digitization requests – On a case-by-case basis, we process digital image requests for our archival holdings by faculty for their classes. All requests need to be made by email.

CONTACT

For further information contact Assoc. Prof. Cynthia Tobar, Head of Archives at 718-289-5436 or via email: cynthia.tobar@bcc.cuny.edu