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Archives and Special Collections

Guide to Reinhardt University Library's Archives and Special Collections.

Special Collections

The Children’s Collection is located on the third floor of the library.  A special room houses the easy reader, picture books, juvenile non-fiction, and young adult fiction.

This collection, of particular interest to Education students, features more than 2000 works of fiction and nonfiction, ranging from picture books and easy readers to young adult literature.

The collection is available for community children and youth to use. Books may be borrowed for a four week period.

More than 150 of these books are written in Spanish or in a bilingual format.

The Music Library for the School of Performing Arts is located on the second floor of the Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center. Books and scores are cataloged within the music classification as part of the general collection.

The Music Library houses musical scores, recordings, and other materials related to music study.  Use of the Music Library collection is restricted to Reinhardt University students, faculty and staff.

For a complete list of music databases and for more information about accessing and searching the Music Library collection, please view the Music LibGuide.

The library has an extensive collection of video and audio recordings, as well as viewing equipment for each. The Media collection is located on the second floor, and items can be checked-out by students, faculty, staff, and community patrons for a one-week loan period. 

The library also subscribes to several streaming video and audio databases. These include Films on Demand, a comprehensive, curriculum-focused video subscription providing unlimited access to thousands of videos, and several music streaming databases. Off campus access to these databases is restricted to current Reinhardt students, faculty, and staff.  Others may access databases only within the library building.

In Special Collections, the library has a collection of phonograph records donated by Reinhardt alumnus Rick L. Pope. These records do not circulate, but there is equipment in the library for listening to the albums.

The Triplett Memorial Military History Collection (TMMC) is a collection of books, videos, periodicals and memorabilia pertaining to the military throughout history. This collection is located on the third floor of the library.

The original donation of more than 5,000 books and other items was given to the Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center by Don Wesley-Brown, a veteran and former paratrooper. While the biggest part of the collection is U.S. Civil War history, the Triplett Memorial Military History Collection includes books on every war in which the United States has been involved - from the American Revolution to the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Mr. Brown, "[T]here [has] been a Triplett in the armed forces in every war from the French and Indian War to the present time." The collection is named in honor of his mother's family name.

The collection was supplemented by a donation of 1,100 books on World War II from Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Poe, Sr. These books had belonged to Mrs. Poe's brother, Frank James Farkus III, who had fought in World War II under General George Patton. About a third of the books are written in German and view the war from the German prospective.

A significant number of additional volumes were donated to the collection by Richard R. Jaeger, III, in memory of his son Richard Robert Jaeger, IV, a graduate of The Citadel, and by Gordon R. "Rich" Elwell.

Speical Collections Development Policy

Special Collections policy 

The Hill Freeman Library has special collections. These are books and other materials that support the uniqueness of Reinhardt University and the surrounding community. The communities can include Reinhardt, Waleska, Appalachia, Cherokee County, and Georgia.  

Some of these materials need specialized care and/or security requirements which dictates limited access to those materials, therefore, some Special Collections are housed in the Archives.  

Acquisitions  

  1. Each Special Collection will have a defined purpose and rationale that supports the University or surrounding area.  
  2. Adding material, whether donated or purchased, to a Special Collection will support the rationale of the specific Special Collection.  
  3. All donations for the library Special Collections are accepted under the standard guidelines of any library acquisition.   

“Once an item is donated to the library, it belongs to the library; the library cannot accept gift items under restricted conditions. The library assumes no responsibility for appraisal of gift items.” (Library Collection Development Policy, IIV. GIFTS). 

Maintenance and Deselection  

  1. Library staff will review the materials in the Special Collections periodically for the physical integrity, use, and usefulness to the University.   
  2. If an item has issues with physical integrity, the staff will evaluate if the material can be remediated or repaired and do so accordingly. If the item is beyond repair, the staff will start the deselection process. 
  3. Deselection of Special Collections are conducted by the same Library Policy guidelines as the regular collection. 

“Deselecting of library materials (the process of removing materials from the collection) is essential for the maintenance of a current, active collection that meets the needs of the academic community. This process provides quality control through the elimination of inaccurate, outdated, and worn-out materials. Deselecting requires the same level of attention to collection development requirements as does the original selection process. The collection is continually monitored for outdated or damaged material, which is replaced or withdrawn.” (Library Collection Development Policy, IX. COLLECTION MAINTENANCE AND EVALUATION”