The Archives currently are home to a diverse body of multimedia resources in a wide variety of formats. Researchers will find a rich vein of documentary materials that includes DVDs, VHS tapes, Betamax tapes, physical and digital photographs, mp3s, cassette tapes, slides, reel-to-reel interviews, as well as 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film, among others. Please let us know in advance if you need to access some of our rarer media formats. While we have the appropriate equipment to access most of these materials, there are a few, such as the Betamax tapes, for which we have no working players, either in the Archive or in our AV department.
If you wish to donate multimedia materials or multimedia players to our Archives, please do contact us; let us know your name and provide details about the content of any donation.
Photo Archives
Our photo collection includes materials dating from the Sinsinawa Dominican’s initial purchase of the farm in the early 1900s, up to today's Dominican University. Primarily our photos are prints from physical negatives, but we do have some digital images as well as dry and wet glass plate negatives. We have photo collections that complement nearly every aspect of our school’s activities.
Here are a few sample images from our collection. All images © Dominican University unless otherwise noted:
Audio Archives
Our audio collection includes a oral histories, theater productions, poetry readings, and material related to lectures and seminars delivered during campus events. The largest body of material is drawn from conversations with Sisters from the 1960s through the 1980s, and lectures from Siena Center events.
Please click on the image below to hear Sister Paul McCabe reading the poem ‘As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame’ by Gerard Manly Hopkins, 1918. (Recording made on 14 May, 1985)
Video Archives
Our video archives currently include material dating from the early 1920s up through to today. The bulk of the material is contained on video cassettes, though we recently obtained DVD-rs for much of our 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film collection. Some highlights include various Siena Center programs, a complete record of the 1992 Quincentenary Conference, as well as footage of lectures given by Sisters Aurelia Altenhofen, Candida Lund, and Jean Murray.
The following video is a short segment of our recently converted 16mm film stock. The footage is from the 1940s, and likely shows activities from a College Day celebration. Held on the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, April 30th of each year (until the mid 1960s), College Day was held in honor of campus life, offering students some relaxation, as well as activities such as picnics, swim meets, horseback riding and baseball games. This video is silent.
