University Archives and Special Collections

Using Archives and Special Collections

University Archives serves as the chief resource for historical materials about Oakland University. It collects, organizes, preserves, and makes accessible the significant records that chronicle the university’s history since its founding in 1957.

Special Collections consists of other original historical materials that support  the research and educational endeavors of Oakland University. Areas of collecting strength include:

• Local history (Oakland County and South East Michigan)
• Civil War history and Lincolniana
• English women’s literature of the 17th-19th centuries
• Michigan politics
• LGBTQ history
• Rare books

Collections exist in both physical and electronic formats and can be searched and browsed online. You can:

• Search finding aids (detailed inventories of collections)
• Search the library catalog (limiting search to the "Archives" location)
• Search and browse our digitized collections in OUR@oakland (student newspapers, OU publications, and much more!)
• Search and browse digitized images (historical photographs of OU and other special collections)