Collegian Archive
Digitizing The Collegian
The Asbury University Archives & Special Collections initiated the project of digitizing historical issues of the Collegian in order to provide access to the rich record of our institutional beginnings. We know that one of the best ways to do that is to let the words of students and faculty who shaped those early years of Asbury’s history speak for themselves. We selected issues of The Asbury Collegian, from 1925 to 1940 as the first digitization project. Issues produced every three or four weeks included campus news, personal stories, and updates from alumni around the world, as well as local events and reflections on national issues. Until recently those issues were carefully stored under archival conditions, both in print and microfilm, which has been the industry standard. To date, we have had more than 340 issues of The Collegian transferred to PDF image files that are accessible online and keyword searchable. This material holds a treasure of information for researchers. Articles contain information about Asbury in the 1920s and 30s; material for family genealogy research; background about Asbury’s support of co-education and women in ministry; descriptive ads that document local businesses; higher education practices and courses of study for small, liberal arts colleges; and the impact of the stock market crash in 1929 on the campus.
About This Collection
There’s no denying that we live in a digital age! The explosion of new technologies has also opened p many more opportunities to share materials. In 2015 Asbury University celebrated its 125th anniversary as an institution. That year also marked 100 years of student publications. The student newspaper actually began in the fall of 1914 and was known as the New Era for ten years, then transitioned to the campus newspaper The Asbury Collegian in 1925.
How You Can Help Us
Since this is a time-consuming and often costly process, we will complete additional stages of our historical issues of The Collegian in segments. This first part of the project was made possible through the generous support of the University. The next phase will be covered by funds donated by interested alumni and friends of Asbury University. You can help us reach our goal of digitizing a unique part of our history. If you are interested in opportunities to help financially, please contact us at library@asbury.edu or call (859) 858-5265. The cost to digitize one full year of issues is approximately $200 to $500 depending on the number of issues printed in a year.
To Browse the Collegians by Date