Welcome to the St. Olaf Libraries & IT

The College Archives was established in 1969 as a repository of historical materials relating to the founding and growth of the institution. We continue to actively collect the history of St. Olaf College, representing the many diverse voices in our community. We provide access to our collections by effectively describing, processing and preserving materials; and by using new technologies to expose them to our community. 

Finding aids for our processed collections are discoverable through our College Archives’ records and archival materials database, FRAM. Use this database to discover material from the founding of the college through present day. Our collections include official college records, presidential papers, faculty and alumni collections, scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, departmental and board records, sound and film recordings, and digital material. We are currently reprocessing our collections and adding them to this database. Not all of our material is yet represented here.

FRAM stands for Find Records and Archival Material and also references our College motto and the classic College Song: Fram! Fram! St. Olaf. Fram or forward is the direction we are taking the College Archives with our new database.

Appointments are required to view physical items or to talk with the archivist.   Archive hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can make an appointment by emailing college_archives@stolaf.edu.

Most Popular Online Resources

• Find Records & Archival Material (FRAM)
• The Manitou Messenger Online
• The Viking Yearbook
• History of St. Olaf 1874-1974 (by Joseph Shaw)
• Dear Old Hill: The Story of Manitou Heights, The Campus of St. Olaf College (Shaw)
• Virtual Exhibits
  
   

Kristell Benson: Lead Archivist

Rolvaag Memorial Library Special Collections offers students and scholars access to printed materials from the 15th century to the present. You can start exploring our collections and work through our virtual exhibits.

Hours and Access
Access to the Rolvaag Library Special Collections is dependent on staff availability, Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Researchers need to make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance by completing our Special Collections Appointment Request form. To prepare for your appointment, see our guidelines for visitors.

For more information about our collections and how to search the catalog, please see our Using Special Collections Research Guide.

Collection Strengths

• Artists' Books and fine press books
• Bodman-Lang East Asian Collection
• Nordic-American Imprints Collection
• Pre-1801 Collection 

Jillian Sparks: Distinctive Collections Engagement Librarian