Archives and Photographic Collection

The George T. Henry College Archives include a reading room and a climate- controlled vault located on the lower level of Stewart Memorial Library.

Archive Hours

Monday - Friday
9 A.M.- 12:00 P.M
1:00 P.M.-3:30 P.M.

For extensive research, appointments may be made by scheduling with the archives assistant (x8787) or with library's Reference Department (319-399-8017).  Items from the archives may not be used outside the reading room.

Subject to donor or copyright restriction, materials are generally available for copying. The reading room is equipped with a light box and networked scanning station to allow for the convenient use of photographic images. 

Named after George T. Henry, Coe graduate and college photographer for over fifty years, the archives contain material useful in interpreting the history of Coe College. The collection includes administrative records, back files of college publications, manuscripts, photographs and artifacts generated by administrative and academic offices, student groups and alumni organizations. Student honors theses and publications authored by Coe faculty and alumni are also housed here. 

The Henry Archives includes the papers of historian and journalist William Shirer '25 and selected papers of the poet and educator Paul Engle '31. The archives are the repository for the George T. Henry photographic collection, a comprehensive, fifty-year documentation of daily life at a small liberal arts college.

The George T. Henry Photographic Collection

A valuable and irreplaceable visual history, the George T. Henry Photographic collection is an unparalleled record of the life of a college as seen through the viewfinder of a single photographer. Beginning in 1949, and continuing for over half a century, George Henry served as the college's primary photographer, creating over 100,000 images in the process. Working almost exclusively in black and white, careful in his choice of materials and meticulous in his processing technique, the photographer created a legacy that is comprehensive in content and remains in remarkably good physical condition.

The Henry Collection consists of approximately one hundred thousand negatives, sixty thousand proof sheet images, nine thousand prints and 900 digital scans--all of the items relating to Coe College. As Mr. Henry remains active in his profession, the transfer of the materials to the library is not yet completed.