|
best resource for fraternity/sorority information
Several people have asked where there are good resources for fraternity and sorority information and history. Here are some helpful places that I have located:
A treasure trove is the Student Life and Cultural Archives Program at University of Illinois. Interestingly, it is in an unimposing Ag School building on West Gregory, not in the main library. Much of their holdings are listed on-line; however, they are constantly adding to the collection. It is very user friendly. Advance arrangements are suggested as it has a very small staff and the hours are not always regular. Arm yourself with quarters for the parking meter out front and the copy machine inside -- there are no money changers anywhere near.
Lavere Memorial Temple, Sigma Alpha Epsilon headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, also has a large collection. At one time they had bound copies of every fraternity and sorority magazine, although due to space and manpower constraints they have done less so in recent years. I do not believe that it is manned regularly so you probably should make an appointment in advance. The building is so impressive that you may want to take a tour even if you are not doing research.
The Main Branch of the New York City Public Library is a repository for a lot of fraternity and sorority material. If you type in Greek Letter Fraternities on their site you will find what they have. They have a lot of NPHC material. But by far the largest collection is from Delta Upsilon which formally entrusted the Library with many of their old records several years ago when they were headquarters in New York. It is very user friendly. You need a card (free & takes ten minutes) but the time required to retreive your request can often take up to an hour because all of that material is stored several floors below Bryant Park next-door. Since the building is worthy of a tour you can place your request and use the time to explore.
Almost every fraternity and sorority headquarters has an historical collection, ranging from musuem quality presentation to dusty boxes in the storage room. Few have much information on other groups. Every college and university has a collection of year books and other publications. Some are in the main ciculating library and others are in a special archives department. A check of the library web site will usually give you an indication as to how user friendly they may be (some are not very).
Hopefully, others who are intested in fraternity lore can share some of their resources. Do any other national headquarters have extensive Greek collections?
|
Linear Mode
