About Special Collections

• Overview and History
• Hours
• Location and Directions
• Collection Development Policy
• Special Collections Strategic Plan
• 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
Michael Fondren G. David Gearhart Papers Project Archivist	mfondren@uark.edu	575-4626 MULN 125
Misha Gardner Reading Room Assistant	misha@uark.edu	575-8444 MULN 130
Melanie Griffin Assistant Head, Special Collections	melanieg@uark.edu	575-5576 MULN 130L
Adam Heien Processing Archivist	aheien@uark.edu	575-5434 MULN 123
Todd E. 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
Heath Robinson University Archives Assistant	hjr001@uark.edu	575-8447 MULN 123
Geoffery Stark Research Services Coordinator	glstark@uark.edu	575-8444 MULN 130
Catherine Wallack Architectural Records Archivist	cwallack@uark.edu	575-7253 MULN 126
Katrina Windon Collections Management and Processing Unit Head	windon@uark.edu	575-3867 MULN 125
Joshua Youngblood Rare Books Librarian and Instruction and Outreach Unit Head	jcyoungb@uark.edu	575-7251 MULN 130H

Special Projects Staff, 2018-2019

• Elysa Barton (Manuscripts Processor)
• Ashley Cain (Manuscripts Processor)
• Rebecca Davidson (Reading Room Assistant)
• Christopher Galindo (Manuscripts Processor)
• Sarah Green (Manuscripts Processor)
• Joey Jekel (Reading Room Assistant)
• Kristine Massengale (Reading Room Assistant)
• Angel Sigears (Manuscripts Processor)

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