Collection ID: C564
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Indiana University, Bloomington. Chemistry Library
Abstract:
With a history dating back to 1895, the Chemistry library was initially housed in Wylie Hall, however with the completion of the Chemistry building in the 1930s it relocated and remains in that location to this day. The collection consists primarily of administrative files such as handbook, notes and memos.
Extent:
3.6 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Item], Indiana University Chemistry Library records, Collection C564, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

The core collection of the original Chemistry Library was donated by Dr. Robert Edward Lyons around 1895. Most of those early works are still in the book collection with his book plates on them. From 1895-1931, the Chemistry Library was housed in a room in Wylie Hall. It was moved to the ground floor of the new Chemistry Building in the early 1930s. The library was extensively remodeled and enlarged around 1965, and the present quarters were occupied during the remodeling and expansion of the Chemistry Building in the early 1990s.

The Chemistry Library has long been an early adopter of new information technology. It was the first unit on campus to have a photocopy machine and the first to have a CD-ROM player. An innovative current awareness service based on the Chemical Abstracts tapes was offered for a number of years during the 1970s, initially through ARAC (the Aerospace Research Applications Center), then through the Chemical Information Center (CIC). Housed in the library, the CIC was the first unit on campus, and indeed in the entire state of Indiana, to offer online searching of remote databases through the Dialog and Orbit systems. Miriam Bonham, wife of Emeritus Professor Russell A. Bonham, was the expert searcher who initially provided the service. A complete microfilming unit was part of the CIC operations for many years, providing compact archival storage for laboratory notebooks and Molecular Structure Center reports.

In 1985, the Chemistry Library was one of the first in the world to offer the Chemical Abstracts Service Academic Program that permits low-cost searching of the CAS ONLINE files. For 10 years, this service was offered at no cost to the user. CAS ONLINE was replaced at IUB by SciFinder Scholar in the mid-1990s. Since July 2000, SciFinder Scholar has been available at all IU campuses 24 hours/day with full substructure searching. In combination with current subscriptions to all of the American Chemical Society journal Web editions and electronic versions of other chemistry journals (including backfiles of most of them), the SciFinder Scholar databases provide unparalleled access to the major primary and secondary sources in chemistry. Another resource that has been available to IU researchers at all campuses since its inception is the CrossFire system that includes both the Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry and the Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry. The Cambridge Structural Database is also provided by the Chemistry Library.

The Chemistry Library remains open on Bloomington's campus and is located in the Chemistry Building.

Scope and Content:

The records of the Indiana University Chemistry Library span the years 1855-2011; the bulk of the collection is concentrated in the years from 1979-2002. Records are organized into two series, Administrative files and Subject files. Within both series, files are organized alphabetically by folder heading.

Contained within the Administrative files are such subjects as the ongoing maintenance of the library's journals and serials, including correspondence and memos on renewals and cancellations. Represented within this topic are memos, e-mails, letter correspondence, and printed lists of journals collected by the Chemistry Library. In addition, there are reports reflecting the then-current status of library holdings and issues. Other topics include past upgrades and remodeling of the library facilities, including proposed expansions, materials measurements, floor plans, remodeling drawings, and cost estimates. These topics are represented in part through correspondence, internal memos, e-mail, and various notes. Another subject within the series concerns materials for the Chemical Information Center (CIC), an information clearinghouse maintained by the Chemistry Library at that time. Included are annual reports on the status of the CIC and materials describing the history of the Center. Also included in the series are general annual library reports for the Chemistry Library, materials concerning other chemistry information centers affiliated with Indiana University, and correspondence/ memos on the status and changes to the facilities at the Chemistry Library. There are also posters explaining how to use to the Clearinghouse for Chemical Information Instructional Materials (CCIIM). Finally, the series includes materials relating to the history of the Chemistry Library, including photographs, handbooks, notes, memos, and chronologies of the library's past development.

The next series, Subject files, features a variety of materials relating to the general development of chemistry as a science and as a profession. Many of the files are sourced from the historical surveys of chemistry taught through the department in the past. Included in the series are journal and magazine clippings, submitted student reports, handwritten notecards, memos, course syllabi, copies of exams, article reprints, and copies of original source documents.

Acquisition information:
Accession 2014/061
Processing information:

Processed by Archives Staff.

Completed in 2015

Arrangement:

Records are organized into two series, Administrative files and Subject files. Within both series, files are organized alphabetically by folder heading.

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Copyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units, departments, and other offices are held by the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Indiana University Chemistry Library records, Collection C564, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Herman B Wells Library E460
1320 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-1127
archives@indiana.edu