About Special Collection

Location and Hours

The Special Collection department is located in room # 32 on the lower level of the Samford University Library and is open to the public. If you are not familiar with Samford University or the Birmingham area, maps are available to assist you.

Campus Guide

Samford in Relation to Birmingham
 

Hours

Regular Hours

The collection is open Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The hours for the collection may vary when the University is not in session.

Mission of Special Collection

The mission of the Special Collection Department of the Samford University Library is to document The History of the University, The State of Alabama and Its People, and Alabama’s Religious Institutions through the acquisition of historically significant, rare and/or unique materials.

Howard College/Samford University Collection
The mission of the University Archives of Samford University Library is to serve as the collective memory of the university through the ongoing acquisition of material produced for and/or by the university.

Alabama Collection of local, church and family history
The mission of the Alabama Collection is to collect resources documenting the social, family, cultural, and religious history of the state that can be used by researchers.

Alabama Baptist Historical Collection
The mission of the Alabama Baptist Historical Collection is to gather and preserve original church conference minutes, scrapbooks, church histories, organizational minutes, membership records, financial records, and biographical information on pastors.

Special Collection is therefore in Support of Goal 6, objective 6.3 Strategic Plan of Samford University – Foster institutional pride and enhance relationships within the university community and with constituents

• Strengthen and expand our relationships with institutions across the globe

• Build alliances with organizations and communities, including partnerships with historically black congregations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities

• Celebrate and communicate institutional successes and the achievements of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni

• Develop additional mechanisms for students to share their Samford stories

• Better transition our current students into supportive alumni and expand their opportunities for positive and continued engagement with the university

• Nurture students to promote institutional pride and loyalty

• Assure excellence in athletics

• Increase and enhance relationships with the corporate community

• Enhance our ability to track the accomplishments of alumni and empower each school to be able to access that information

Services

The Special Collection staff provides research assistance via email, telephone and in person in the department's reading room located on the lower level of the library.

For more details on submitting a request, please see the department's policy pertaining to research requests.