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Green Bay - Fox River Water Quality Collection

This is a collection of materials also known as the Sea Grant Collection and the Bud Harris Collection. The collection contains materials about the bay of Green Bay and the Fox River on topics such as flora, fauna, pollution, natural history, etc. The collection is housed in the Archives Reading Room. Included in the collection are: reports, article reprints, books, theses, and media formats. Files are in accession number order. The access is by accession number or main entry (subject or author).

Manuscripts

Manuscripts are collections of papers or records of individuals, businesses, or organizations. Manuscript collections span from the 1600s to contemporary times. Subjects covered by manuscripts range from missionary work among the Oneidas to letters written by soldiers serving in World War II; from subject files of environmental groups to diaries of immigrants; from lumber company records to courtship letters. Additional examples of collections include:

Manuscript collections can be used for a research on a variety of topics , such as: genealogy, house histories, business histories, legal histories, ethnic settlement patterns, work environments, social conditions, everyday living conditions, and firsthand accounts of historical events.

Maps

The major collection of maps in the Cofrin Library are located on the fifth floor of the Library. However, a large number of maps are also in the Special Collections Department. The maps in this department pertain to northeastern Wisconsin and/or require special handling. Many of the maps are cataloged in the Cofrin Library Catalog. The maps can provide information on ownership for specific parcels of land, boundaries, natural features, and buildings. Typical types of maps available in Special Collections are:

Periodicals

The periodicals housed in Special Collections include those published by area genealogical societies, local historical societies, and selected state publications. The periodicals contain articles about local history, Native American tribes, individuals of historic importance, specific buildings and industries, and provide genealogical information. Many genealogical/historical societies publish partial index lists in their publications such as: cemetery headstone indexes, citizenship indexes, plat map indexes, lists of school officers and teachers, obituary indexes, land sales indexes, census indexes, and so on. The periodicals may also include queries from individuals who want to make contact with others who are researching the same surname.

The majority of the periodicals housed in Special Collections are cataloged in the Cofrin Library Catalog . The department may not have the complete set of any one periodical; holdings are listed in the catalog.

Photographs

The Special Collections Department has a collection of approximately 1600 photographic images. The photos depict individuals, businesses, communities, events, buildings, and activities. The geographic area covered by the photo collection is northeastern Wisconsin. Most of the images are identified and dated. The photographs are accessed through a detailed index. The index also contains very specific subject information about the contents of the photos (e.g. barstools, gardens, etc.).

All photos pertaining to Belgian-Americans have been digitized and are available for online viewing at: http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI/subcollections/BelgAmrColAbout.html

Photographs do not circulate. Patrons may make photocopies of the photographs. Patrons may also request scans of photographs or photo reproduction. Specific policies and fees have been established for these research requests.

Vertical file

Materials in the vertical file are arranged by topic or subject such as: activities, businesses, churches, communities, events, and individuals. The contents of each folder vary but they often include newspaper clippings, articles, and pamphlets. There are also two sub-components to the vertical file: Student Research Papers and Genealogical Resources.

Each year students in some University of Wisconsin-Green Bay classes prepare major research papers pertaining to local history. The research papers are heavily based on original sources and generally cover some topic that is not covered in published sources. The students and professors from these classes provide a copy of their research papers to the Special Collections Department. Each student signs a release form donating their paper to the Department.  The research papers are indexed by author, title, and major subjects. The alphabetical index is available in the Archives Reading Room.

A separate file has been established for genealogical resources. Files include cemetery indexes, request forms, bibliographies, and holdings lists of various organizations.