The Eli M. Oboler Library’s Special Collections hold thousands of photographs documenting the region’s history. Image courtesy of the Eli M. Oboler Library, Idaho State University.
At Idaho State University, the Eli M. Oboler Library’s Special Collections and Archives Department houses published and unpublished resources pertaining to the history and culture of the Intermountain West. The collection is vast and, like other collections, fragile. By supporting the Eli M. Oboler Library with a preservation assessment grant, the NEH took the first step in ensuring that the materials are preserved for current and future generations.
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An image from the archive’s vast photographic collection, courtesy of the Eli M. Oboler Library, Idaho State University.
NEH funding allowed the library to bring an expert consultant to Pocatello in order to assess the collections. Once there, he was able to make recommendations for storage as well as prioritize collections in danger of being lost. Ellen Ryan, Head of Special Collections and Archives, recalls that the conservator “was stunned” by the photographic negatives collection’s size and said that “he had never seen anything like it.”
An image from the archive’s vast photographic collection, courtesy of the Eli M. Oboler Library, Idaho State University.
The Eli M. Oboler Library’s collections are vast, containing 74,000 photographs, 1,000,000 photographic negatives, and 2,300 maps and architectural drawings depicting the region from the 19th century to the present. These materials, along with letters, diaries, and other personal accounts, document the development of the natural and built environments in Idaho and surrounding states; the history of westward expansion and the Oregon Trail; the experiences of Native American and immigrant communities; the growth and evolution of railroads and mining companies; and the internment of Japanese Americans and detention of German prisoners of war in Western states during World War II. In response to the preservation assessment, the Dean of Libraries allocated an immediate $10,000 to purchase recommended preservation materials, and the university has committed to sustained support for the special collections and archives.
