Digital Image Collections

Butler University Libraries work to digitize and provide access to photographs and documents housed in our Special Collections & Archives so as to make them available to scholars worldwide.

The Eliza Blaker Collection

Portrait of a young Eliza Blaker

This collection includes photographs and speeches relating to the life and work of Eliza Blaker, as well as records of the Teachers College of Indianapolis. Blaker founded the Teachers College, which became affiliated with Butler University in 1929, and is now the College of Education.

View the Eliza Blaker Collection

The Butler Collegian Archive

The Butler Collegian, February 1893

The student newspaper of Butler University was first published as The Collegian in 1886, and this online archive currently covers the years 1886-1892, 1936-2004 along with a few issues from 1893, 1935, and 2005. Current issues may be found at The Butler Collegian.

View The Collegian Archive

Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection

Campus fountain

The Buildings and Grounds Collection includes photographs and documents of Butler University’s buildings and grounds on the current campus as well as on the two former campus locations. Additional images and documents are being added as time allows.

View the Buildings and Grounds Collection

Butler University Department of Theatre 75th Anniversary

Department of Theatre Logo

Butler University’s Department of Theatre 75th Anniversary Exhibit shows some highlights from the Department’s founding and more recent history.  Topics include predecessor institutions, productions, faculty, student organizations, spaces, and special programs and collaborations. The exhibit also contains links to more information for your own research or browsing.

View the Butler University Department of Theatre 75th Anniversary Digital Exhibit

The Butler University Yearbook Collection

The cover of the 1950 edition of The Drift

Published primarily as The Drift, but also as The Gallery and The Carillon, Butler University’s yearbooks are reproduced in full in this collection. Issues from 1891-1931 have selective availability, but all issues from 1934-2013 are available.

View the University Yearbook Collection

The Friesner Herbarium Collection

Dryopteris goldiana from the Friesner Herbarium

The Friesner Herbarium Digital Collection contains images of plant specimens from the Butler University Friesner Herbarium which began as the personal collection of Dr. Ray C. Friesner, Professor and Chair of the Botany Department (1920–1952). The digital collection includes more than 43,000 images of specimens collected in Indiana from the 1870s to the present day. Images of specimens collected around the world are currently being added to the digital collection.

View the Herbarium Collection

The Irwin Library Collection

Photograph of the front of Irwin Library

This collection, assembled for the 50th anniversary of Irwin Library in 2013, includes photographs and documents from the building’s planning, construction, and dedication, as well as photographs of Butler University’s earlier campuses, and photographs of Irwin Library since its dediction. The library was designed by noted architect Minoru Yamasaki, and was officially dedicated in 1965.

View the Irwin Library Collection

Jordan College of the Arts Collection

Image of a program cover from a past JCA Event

Butler University’s Jordan College of the Arts Collection currently contains a selection of School of Music programs from performances which took place during the 2018-2019 academic year as well as productions from the Department of Theatre over a 75 year period.  We are continuing to add items as time permits.

View the Jordan College of the Arts Collection

The Jeanette Siron Pelton Botanical Print Collection

Passion Flower Botanical Print

The Pelton Botanical Print Collection contains 71 original plates from herbals, plant histories, and botanical magazines published in the 15th through 19th centuries, created by a gift of Dr. John F. Pelton and the Jeanette Siron Pelton Memorial Fund in 1969.

View the Pelton Botanical Print Collection

Ovid Butler Collection

This collection will eventually contain all of the letters written by Ovid Butler from 1862 to 1866. These letters are bound in a letterbook which is in the Butler University Archives. Letterbooks were used to keep copies of letters written to and from individuals or businesses as a way to keep track of their correspondence. The letters discuss family life, Scott Butler’s service in the Civil War, business dealings, land holdings, taxes and more. The last few pages contain an index of the letter recipients in reverse alphabetical order.

View the Ovid Butler Collection

Sigma Gamma Rho Centennial Collection

Sigma Gamma Rho

The Butler University Sigma Gamma Rho Centennial Collection is a digital collection created in partnership between Butler University Libraries and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and its members to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Sorority’s founding at Butler University in 1922. The collection contains materials documenting nearly a century of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority’s history, predominately from 1946 through 2014.

View the Sigma Gamma Rho Centennial Collection

The University Art Collection

3D scan of pottery from the University Art Collection

The University Art Collection will eventually cover a wide variety of objects from Butler University’s art collection. Initially, though, it contains 3D digital objects created with funding from a Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) Innovation Grant and a partnership between Butler Libraries and the Center for Academic Technology.

View the University Art Collection

Chinese Art Images

Chinese Art Collection image

This collection includes nearly 300 images of Chinese Art from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Access is limited to current Butler University faculty, students, and staff due to purchase agreement restrictions.

View the Chinese Art Collection

Global and Historical Studies Images

GHS photo archive

This collection includes more than 1100 images of sites, art, and architecture around the world, provided by Butler University faculty. Access is limited to current faculty, students, and staff.

View the Global and Historical Studies Collection

Japanese Art Images

Japanese Art Print

This collection includes 70 images of Japanese Art from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO. Access is limited to current Butler University faculty, students, and staff due to purchase agreement restrictions.

View the Japanese Art Collection

Scholars Resource Art Images

Image of architecture from the Scholars Collection

This collection contains 800 art and architecture images purchased from Saskia, and restricted for use by Butler University students, faculty and staff for educational purposes only.

View the Scholars Resource Collection