Moore Library Special Collections and University Archives
Moore Library special collections include Riderana, the Rare Books Collection, the Louis A. Leslie Collection of Historical Shorthand Materials, the Alan C. Lloyd Collection of Historical Typewriting Materials, the Kendrick C. Hill Collection of Early Business Education Materials, and the Historic Business Machines Collection.
All Special Collections items either purchased or donated are reviewed by the Archivist, who makes the final decision as to whether the material is appropriate for inclusion in Special Collections, and to what Collection it is to be added.
Moore Library Archival Policies
Policies and procedures for the use of materials in the Riderana archives and special collections housed at Moore Library.
Riderana, the University Archives
Riderana is the name of the archives and special collections pertaining to Rider University. Riderana collects, houses, and preserves:
- Historical materials on the history of Rider University and Rider College, including maps, documents such as committee minutes, publications, photographs, correspondence, artifacts, and memorabilia;
- Rider University/College publications: Rider News (1926-), The Shadow (1924-), Communique (1970-), and other miscellany.
Most material for Riderana is donated by University offices and personnel, alumni, or interested outside parties. Additional material is occasionally purchased.
Rider Faculty Publications
The collection consists of printed monographic works of Rider faculty. If copies are not donated, the library will purchase one copy for the collection. These publications should be included in the Rider University Faculty Publication Database.
The Rare Books Collection
The Rare Books Collection consists material deemed of such value that it will be housed separately from the regular stacks. The collection includes:
- A selection of fine print works illustrating the art of printing, typography, binding, and fine paper
- Books whose format, age, scarcity, fragility, or other unusual characteristic merit their withdrawal from the general circulation collection (ex. volume of loose plates or a book owned by few libraries nationwide).
- Limited Editions Club books
- Inscribed copies of books by distinguished authors or authors important to the history of Rider University.
- Books whose age, format, scarcity or other unusual qualities merit special care. The oldest volume in the collection dates from 1550.
Additional material is occasionally purchased. Material donated by sources outside the library are also accepted.
The Louis A. Leslie Collection of Historical Shorthand Materials
Louis A. Leslie was the chief editor of the Gregg Publishing Co., as well as a leading authority on shorthand systems. In 1987, he donated to the library a collection of approximately 9,500 books and periodicals on shorthand, typing, and the history of shorthand education. Covering the period from 1682 to the 1970s; the Collection contains examples of every important shorthand system ever invented and many unsuccessful systems as well.
You may access some of our digitized shorthand materials through our Shorthand Digital Library.
Donated relevant material is occasionally added to the collection with notes placed in the material’s bibliographic record identifying it as additional material distinct from Leslie’s original donation. No new material is purchased.
The Alan C. Lloyd Collection of Historical Typewriting Materials
The Lloyd Collection contains over 900 items pertaining to the teaching of typewriting including textbooks, instructor’s manuals, programs for military personnel, selected journals, slide programs, and other pedagogical materials related to typewriting spanning the years 1889 to 1984.
Donated relevant material is occasionally added to the collection with notes placed in the material’s bibliographic record identifying it as additional material distinct from Lloyd's original donation. No new material is purchased.
The Kendrick C. Hill Collection of Early Business Education Materials
Kendrick C. Hill was a noted scholar in the field of stenography and an early faculty member of Rider College. He donated his personal library of materials on shorthand, accounting, auditing and bookkeeping to the University. The Collection consists of books, periodicals, pamphlets, and shorthand associations' proceedings. The materials date from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. No material is added to this collection either through donation or purchase.
The Historic Business Machine Collection
Rider University was founded as the Trenton Business School in 1865, teaching office skills such as shorthand, stenography, and typing. These skills required learning how to use various office equipment such as stenography machines and typewriters. The Historic Business Machine Collection houses office equipment that may have been used by Rider students in their course or when working in a business office. The collection includes typewriters dating back to the 1870s, adding machines, stenography machines, and office computers with software dating back to the early 1980s.
Donated relevant material is frequently added to the collection. Material is purchased only when needed to maintain the items, particularly computers, in working condition.
If you have questions about the archives and our special collections, or wish to donate material to the Rider University Archives, please contact:
- Moore Library Special Collections
Moore Library, Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648-3099 - Robert Congleton
Archivist
(609) 896-5248 - Julia Telonidis
Archives Specialist
(609) 896-5000 x7094
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Talbott Library has a number of Special Collections, many of which are not represented in the online catalog. Some of these collections go back to the founding of Westminster Choir College in 1926 and include books, scores, and manuscripts from the college founders, John Finley and Rhea B. Williamson. Other collections have come to the library through the generosity of individual donors and the Talbott Library Friends. The recent renovation of Talbott Library has created an improved, centralized location for the collections. The Librarian for Special Collections seeks new collections that support Westminster's mission and fit into Talbott Library's Collection Development Policy. |
