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Blue Ridge Community College Archive and Special Collections
Blue Ridge Community College Archive and Special Collections is a collection of historical documents, records, photographs, and more located in the library on the Henderson Campus. It is a research resource for students, faculty, staff, and community members. One of the Archive’s main purposes is to preserve the institutional memory of the College, starting from its founding in 1969. The Archive also is dedicated to preserving the local histories of Henderson, Buncombe, and Transylvania Counties along with other Western North Carolina communities. We have a variety of collections already processed and available for research with many more coming soon!
To learn more about the Archive and access our collections, visit:
Archive Collection Highlights
Louise Howe Bailey Collection
Student Newspaper Collection
Ridgewriter Collection
Donating to the Archive
If you have any documents, photographs, scrapbooks, brochures, film, merchandise, ephemeral materials, or other types of records directly connected to the College and would be interested in donating them to the Archive, please contact our Archivist, Rachel Quinn.
If you have any documents, photographs, scrapbooks, brochures, film, merchandise, ephemeral materials, or other types of records connected to the history of Henderson County or Western North Carolina in general would be interested in donating them, please schedule an appointment with our Archivist to see if your records align with our collection policy.
Digital Services
These services are some of the ways our archive studio can be used. If interested in any of the following, please contact Rachel Quinn to get started.
Oral History Interviews – The main purpose of our recording equipment is to help preserve the institutional memory of the College through interviews with our faculty, staff, and students. Our Archivist also works to preserve the stories of our local community through personal interviews and project partnerships.
Collection Digitization – Many of the Archive’s collections are in the process of being digitized to increase accessibility and insure long term preservation of any physical copies. Additionally, if you are interested in donating to the Archive but do not want to give any physical records, the Archivist can create a high-resolution digital record copy for our collections.
Personal Digitization Services – Our scanners can be used by patrons to digitize their own personal documents, pictures, and collections and save them on portable thumb/zip drives. Patrons must bring their own thumb/zip drives. Otherwise, their scans can be emailed to them in a compressed zip folder. Turnaround times for digitization requests vary based on the workload and project deadlines of the Archivist.
Vocal Recording Services – Our recording studio can be used by patrons for audio recording projects, such as recording voice overs, creating audiobooks, spoken word/hip-hop, recording podcasts, and more.
Ready to get started?
Want to make a research appointment?
Archive FAQs
What is an archive?
An archive is a collection of records that have been preserved because of their historical value. Archives come in all shapes and sizes and can have really unique collections!
What is a record?
A record is something that documents an event, place, time, or person. It can be related to historical moments or current events. Documents, letters, photographs, maps, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, and books are just a few examples of the types of records you can find in an archive.
What is a finding aid?
A finding aid is a tool used by archives to organize/describe collections and make them searchable. Each collection has its own finding aid.
Do I need to make an appointment?
Searching the archives is a bit like a treasure hunt. It takes time for an archivist to find collections that are relevant to your research topic. We recommend booking your appointment at least 48 hours in advance if you’re not sure what you need to look through. Our Archivist will reach out and make a list of recommendations based on available collections. If you know which collection you want to look at, you can submit a request to the archivist, and it can be ready for viewing as early as the next business day.
How do I make a research appointment?
There are different ways you can make a research appointment. You can reach out to our Archivist using the email or phone number at the bottom of the page, use the research appointment calendar linked on this page, or stop in at the library to make an appointment in person.
Can I use the studio equipment for a personal or school project?
Absolutely! As part of our commitment to help bridge the digital divide, our studio equipment is open to use on personal projects and school assignments. Please see our Studio Policy for more information.
When is the Archive open?
The Archive is open 8:30am-1:30pm (M-F) during the fall and spring semesters and 8:00am-2:15pm (M-Th) during the summer. The Archive is closed when the College is closed, or if the Archivist is not on campus.
Questions? Contact Us:
Rachel Quinn
Archivist
localhistory@blueridge.edu
(828) 694-4713