Archives and Special Collections

The Radford University Archives and Special Collections at McConnell Library supports the teaching, research and public service missions of the University Libraries by collecting, preserving, organizing, and making accessible unique primary source materials that document the history of Radford University, Southwest Virginia, and Appalachia. 

Additional Resources About Our Collections

We maintain two sites to highlight some of our collections and activities: the Radford University Archives blog and the Appalachian Music and Culture blog. We hope you'll enjoy seeing some of these special selections and contact us with your questions and comments.

Visit Archives and Special Collections

We welcome your visit to Archives and Special Collections but request that you make an appointment. Please contact us by email  at archives@radford.edu or call 540-831-5694.

Digital Archives
Physical Collections & Finding Aids
Archives Services
Accessing Archives
Donating to Archives

Radford University Carilion Library Archives

The Radford University Carilion Library houses an archival collection that documents the history of the forerunner colleges of Radford University Carilion.  Spanning from the early 1900s to 2019 (the creation of Radford University Carilion), the institutions that contributed to the making of RUC include Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing, Lewis-Gale Hospital School of Nursing, Roanoke Memorial Hospital School of Practical Nursing, Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, and Jefferson College of Health Sciences. The collection of over 2,200 documents consists of college histories, administrative papers, fact books, accreditation reports, news releases, student handbooks, academic catalogs, college brochures, student yearbooks, student newsletters, alumni documents, memorabilia (photos and scrapbooks), college event programs, student master’s projects, and faculty publications.

RUC Library provides access to the archival documents by appointment.  When possible, the RUC Library offers select materials in digital format.  For access to RUC archival documents, please contact us by email at ruclibrary@radford.edu or call 540-831-2272 or 540-831-1346.