Archives & Distinctive Collections

The College of the Holy Cross Archives and Distinctive Collections has a responsibility to maintain all material entrusted to its care in good condition.  Readers are asked to exercise the greatest care in handling documents and books and not mark them in any way.  The Archives reserves the right to limit the use of restricted records as well as collections which are unprocessed or fragile.  The following policies are intended to help preserve the College’s archival and manuscript collections.

1. Readers are required to sign in at the front desk of the Reading Room.
2. All bags and other personal belongings will be stored in the location designated by the staff.  All personal property brought into the reading room is subject to inspection upon leaving.
3. Neither food nor drinks are allowed in the Archives Reading Room.
4. All material must be used in the Archives Reading Room.
5. Readers must use a pencil or laptop computer for note taking.  Pens, markers and scanners may not be used in the Archival Reading Room.
6. Readers should wash their hands with soap and water before handling collections. In some instances, readers may be directed to wear gloves by staff.
7. Care must be taken in handling all Archival and Special Collections material.  All items must lie flat on the tables. Nothing is to be placed on top of the material.
8. The original order of all collections must be maintained.  Do not rearrange material.  Please report any disarrangement to the Archives staff.
9. Readers who wish to publish, reprint or reproduce materials in the collection should request permission in writing from the College Archives. Consult with Archives staff for further information.

Reproductions for private study, scholarship, or research purposes may be made available upon request. The Archives reserves the right to limit the number of reproductions made and refuse reproducing any item if such action will damage the material.  Copies of entire books, manuscript collections or archival record groups will not be made. Reproduction of photographs, videos or audio-visual material will be performed by the College.  Please consult with the Archives staff for further information.

Materials believed to be under copyright or other restrictions are available for limited noncommercial, educational and personal use only, or for fair use as defined by United States copyright law and with proper citation. Please note that the College of the Holy Cross does not hold the rights to all items in its collections. 

Users assume responsibility for identifying all copyright holders and for determining whether permission is needed to make any use of the content.

For permission to publish, reprint or reproduce materials in the collection rights with held by the College, a patron must request permission from Archives & Distinctive Collections. Please contact the Archives via archives@holycross.edu.

Archives & Distinctive Collections reserves the right to refuse a reproduction order.

The Archives & Distinctive Collections department recognizes there are gaps and deficiencies in our records. The department is dedicated to filling those gaps and making our collections more diverse and inclusive. The Archives strive to collect materials which tell the stories of

• Persons of color
• The LGBTQIA+ community
• The first women at the College including students and faculty members
• Holy Cross in the local Worcester community

Additionally, the Archives are committed to expanding our holdings documenting the student experience from the student perspective. Highly-desired materials include records of student organizations, materials and photographs documenting significant events on campus such as the BSU Walkout in 1969 and the Sit-In in 2019. Candid photographs especially from 1990 to present also are desirable.

New collecting priorities for Distinctive Collections include

• Artist sketchbooks, artist books and other materials related to the Dr. Mark D. Nevins '86 Collection for the Study of Comics and Graphic Novels
• Rare books and facsimiles of significant text supporting coursework
• Materials documenting Jesuit history with an emphasis on New England and Holy Cross Jesuit history
• Collections pertaining to Catholic politicians from New England
• Collections and materials documenting women, particularly women in science, and underrepresented groups. We are especially interested in items with some connection to Holy Cross

Please see the pdf document below for our full collection development policy.

The mission of Archives & Distinctive Collections at the College of the Holy Cross is to collect, preserve, and provide access to institutional records of permanent value as well as a wide variety of other resources represented in Distinctive Collections.

Objects in historical collections reflect the attitudes, ideas, and norms of the era and culture in which they were created or collected. As such, some material and the language used to describe them may be considered outdated, biased, or offensive today. Their presence in these collections on this site does not constitute any endorsement of the viewpoints or sentiments expressed within them by the College.

Questions or comments about any item or the policy above may be directed to archives@holycross.edu. All concerns will be reviewed and addressed by Library administration, or other departments as appropriate.

The Archives and Distinctive Collections at College of the Holy Cross provides access to digitized materials that may be under copyright or other restrictions. These materials are available for limited noncommercial, educational and personal use, or for fair use as defined by United States copyright law with proper citation.

The Archives makes digital versions of collections accessible in the following situations:

• They are in the public domain
• The rights are owned by the College of the Holy Cross
• The College of the Holy Cross has permission to make them accessible
• There are no known restrictions on use

Copyright owners who are not properly identified, have questions, or are concerned that their copyright may have been violated are welcome to contact Archives & Distinctive Collections at archives@holycross.edu.  Please include the following information:

• Your contact information (name, address, email address and phone number)
• Title of the work infringed upon
• Title and findable location of the infringing work (citation, URL, etc.)
• Statement detailing violation of copyright which includes the name of the copyright holder.
• Statement that you are the rights holder, or are authorized to act on behalf of the rights holder. 

Upon receipt of a request, a member of the Holy Cross Archives & Distinctive Collections staff will:

• Promptly acknowledge the request via email or other means of communication if you do not have an email account;
• Assess the validity of the request;
• By request temporarily remove the material from public view while we assess the concern.
• After completion of the assessment, take appropriate action and communicate that action to you.