About Special Collections

• Overview and History
• Hours
• Location and Directions
• Collection Development Policy
• Special Collections Staff

Overview and History

The Special Collections Department was created in 1967 to encourage research and writing in the history and culture of Arkansas and the surrounding region. The mission of the department is to acquire, preserve, and provide access to historical manuscripts, archives, maps, photographs, and published materials to support scholarly investigation of the state, its customs and people, and its cultural, physical, and political climate. Special Collections include manuscripts and archives, the Arkansas Collection, rare books and special libraries, photographs, broadsides, and maps. Read more about the collections.

The facilities of Special Collections are open to the public. University of Arkansas faculty and students as well as scholars, journalists, genealogists, community members, and other researchers from throughout the United States and across the world have conducted research in the collections. The results of their work have appeared in theses and dissertations, newspaper articles, scholarly and popular journals and books, exhibits, family and organizational histories, and television and film productions. Read more about doing research in Special Collections.

Location and Directions

Special Collections is located on the basement floor (Level 1) of Mullins Library. View a campus map.

Driving directions to the campus as well as parking information for visitors can be found on our visitors page. The closest public parking are metered spots near the Administration Building or in the Stadium Drive (Arkansas Union) Parking Garage (view a parking map for campus).

Special Collections Staff

Lori Birrell	Head, Special Collections Department	lbirrell@uark.edu	575-8443 MULN 130A
Amy Allen	University Archivist	ala005@uark.edu	575-6370 MULN 130J
Misha Gardner	Reading Room Assistant	misha@uark.edu	575-8444 MULN 130
Adam Heien	Processing Archivist	aheien@uark.edu	575-5434 MULN 123
Todd Lewis	Lead Processing Archivist	telewis@uark.edu	575-4659 MULN 123
Deena Owens	Administrative Assistant to the Special Collections Department	drowens@uark.edu	575-5577 MULN 130N
Janet Parsch	Librarian	jparsch@uark.edu	575-6694 MULN 130K
Heath Robinson	University Archives Assistant	hjr001@uark.edu	575-8447 MULN 123
Geoffery Stark	Special Collections Reading Room Supervisor	glstark@uark.edu	575-8444 MULN 130
Catherine Wallack	Architectural Records Archivist	cwallack@uark.edu	575-7253 MULN 126
Katrina Windon	Accessioning and Processing Archivist	windon@uark.edu	575-3867 MULN 125
Joshua Youngblood	Research and Outreach Services Librarian	jcyoungb@uark.edu	575-7251 MULN 130H

Special Projects Staff, 2016-2017

• Ashley Cain (Manuscripts Processor)
• Jacob Cornett (Manuscripts Processor)
• Rebecca Davidson (Reading Room Assistant)
• Drake Fitzgerald (Manuscripts Processor)
• Christopher Galindo (Manuscripts Processor)
• Sarah Green (Manuscripts Processor)
• Joey Jekel (Reading Room Assistant)
• Vallee Jines(Manuscripts Processor)
• Jane Justus (Manuscripts Processor)
• Ana Owens (Manuscripts Processor)
• Xavier Rettus (Manuscripts Processor)
• Angel Sigears (Manuscripts Processor)
• Angela Tran (Manuscripts Processor)
• Emiley Tripplet (Manuscripts Processor)

Volunteers provide a valuable service, allowing regular staff members to dedicate their time to other projects. Special Collections Volunteer Policy