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Catherine McElvain Library

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Archives

The archival collections document the history of the School for Advanced Research (SAR) and include business and financial records, correspondence, photographs, and personal papers from people and organizations associated with SAR. Highlights include the Indian Arts Fund records and the papers of Kenneth M. Chapman, Rick Dillingham, and sisters Martha and Amelia Elizabeth White. Researchers will find materials relevant to early twentieth-century history of Santa Fe, archaeology in the Southwest, and Native American arts. For a list of local archives with related collections, scroll to the bottom of the page.

Digital images of SAR archival materials are online at the New Mexico Digital Collections.

Open by appointment

RESEARCHERS ARE TEMPORARILY LIMITED TO ONE BOX PER DAY

Email the librarian at library@sarsf.org to schedule an archives appointment. Space is limited; the library can accommodate one archives researcher at a time. Archival material must be requested in advance to allow time for retrieval from storage. There is currently a limit of one box per day. Please choose carefully. No boxes will be retrieved during appointments.

Research Request Form (PDF) | Archives Use Form (PDF)

Visitors new to archives are welcome to access the collections. Training in how to handle fragile documents and photographs will be provided. To prepare for your research appointment, please consult Planning to Visit an Archives and Typical Usage Guidelines in Archival Repositories from the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

Elizabeth White’s bookplate designed by Dorothy Sturgis Harding, 1945.

Finding Aids

Archives Collections list in the library catalog. The catalog is a starting point when searching for people and subjects covered in our archives. Each of our 30+ archival collections has a record in the online catalog with a basic description. Some collections also have supplemental documentation, such as folder inventories, which are in PDF format in the catalog record.

New Mexico Archives Online is a searchable database of repositories across New Mexico. The library has contributed a few finding aids from our archives. More are forthcoming as we continue to process our collections. New Mexico Archives Online is the successor to the former Rocky Mountain Online Archive, a shared archives catalog for Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, that UNM discontinued on October 1, 2021.

Archival collections are listed below with PDF links to finding guides. Please be aware that not all collections are fully processed or open for research. In many cases, partial documentation exists in varying formats. Work is ongoing to bring finding aids up to archival standards. Additional materials about SAR exist in the Records portion of the archives, but there are no public finding aids. Contact the librarian for more information.

  • Acoma-Reuter Project Files
  • Alfred Vincent Kidder Papers, 1926-1935
  • Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Edgar Lee Hewett Correspondence 1908-1923
  • Boaz Long’s Files re the history of SAR 1930-1962
  • Byron Harvey, III Collection re Byrnes 1926-1935
  • Catherine Rayne Collection of A. E. White Photographs
  • Collection of material re: History of SAR
  • Daniel T. Kelly, Sr. Files 1953-1972
  • De Vargas Development Corporation Records
  • Edgar L. Hewett Miscellaneous Papers 1910-1964
  • Eugene B. McCluney Papers re Archaeological Exploration, Hidalgo County, New Mexico 1962-1966
  • Francis C. Wilson Files, 1927-1949
  • George B. Grinnell Correspondence re McKenney-Hall
  • Hazel Hyde Papers
  • Indian Arts Fund Records, 1922-1977
  • Indian Fair Records 1928-1931
  • J.J. Brody Papers
  • J.O. Seth and Oliver Seth Papers, 1947-1966
  • Jesse Nusbaum Files re Furniture Design
  • John G. Meem Papers
  • Josephine Foard Correspondence and Photographs
  • Kenneth M. Chapman Collection 1925-1972
  • Marjorie F. Lambert Papers
  • Martha and Amelia Elizabeth White Papers
  • Mary Austin Papers and Records re Estate
  • Mary Bryan Forsyth Collection, 1953-1981
  • Melinda Elliott Collection of Research Material for History of SAR
  • Parker Wilson Files, 1952-1984
  • Recordings of Southwest Music
  • Rick Dillingham Papers
  • Sallie R. Wagner Miscellaneous Collection 1933-?
  • SAR/MNM Separation of Collections, Records of
  • School of American Research Miscellaneous Records 1913-1995

Local Archives

The early history of SAR is closely entwined with that of several local organizations, particularly the Museum of New Mexico and the Laboratory of Anthropology. Researchers may find related materials at other archival repositories. In particular, photographs of early SAR history and archaeology are held at the Photo Archives of the New Mexico History Museum.