Physical and Special Collections
Physical collections are located on the library’s third floor and are available by appointment: Monday – Friday, 9am – 3pm.
Email us at libraryarchives@franklincollege.edu to plan your visit, and research inquiries or questions are accepted via the online archives request form.
The Honorable Roger Douglas Branigin Archives (by appointment only)
This collection is the gubernatorial papers of Roger D. Branigin, the governor of Indiana from 1965 to 1969. Branigin was also a surrogate for President Lyndon B. Johnson, in the 1968 Democratic Primary in Indiana. Branigin’s papers are one of the few papers of an Indiana governor that are not housed in the Indiana State Archives. The scope of these papers covers the years 1964–1969 and includes material such as correspondence, legislation, and daily journals.
Explore the online finding aid to this collection.
Franklin College Archives (by appointment only)
This collection includes materials concerning Franklin College including manuscripts, yearbooks, catalogs, publications by the college, and other material associated with Franklin College, for example, biographical information about Franklin College alumni, faculty, staff, and students. These materials date from the college’s founding to the present. Also, included in this collection are the presidential papers of presidents of Franklin College from circa 1930 to circa 2000. These presidential papers largely contain correspondence, but also include various material from trustees and other campus departments. A unique feature of this collection includes the Civil War Papers of William Stott, a former president of Franklin College.
The Indiana American Baptist Collection (by appointment only)
This collection consists of a variety of records from the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. These materials include published volumes, association minutes, biographies of Indiana Baptists, periodicals, and other church records. This collection continues to add material from the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. Many of the published volumes are available for circulation. Material in this collection dates from circa 1799 to the present. A unique feature of this collection includes the pictures of a Baptist missionary trip to Ongle, India.
The Franklin College Collection (library’s third floor)
This collection consists of the published works—encompassing a variety of genres—of alumni, faculty, and staff at Franklin College.
Franklin College continues to add material to this collection, and this material can circulate.
The David Demaree Banta Collection (library’s third floor)
This collection was donated to the College by Roger D. Branigin, who collected both published and unpublished material concerning Indiana and the old North-West Territory. Branigin named the collection after David Demaree Banta, who had been a dean of the Indiana University Law School, and was someone he greatly admired. Franklin College continues to add published material concerning Indiana to this collection. Manuscript highlights for the collection include a check written by President Benjamin Harrison and a letter written by the Marquis de Lafayette.
Much of the published collection is available for circulation.
