Washington and Lee University Finding Aids
The Washington and Lee University (W&L) ArchivesSpace contains the finding aids or collection descriptions of both the University Library Special Collections and Archives as well as the Law Library’s Lewis F. Powell Jr. Archives. Here you will find descriptions of our primary sources at W&L including papers, correspondence, photographs, maps, film and video, print items, digital materials, objects, and more. Links to online access are included when available, but to search only materials available digitally, please visit the Digital Archive. If you are interested in published materials from our collection, please utilize the advance search of our library catalog and limit to Special Collections and Archives. More information about using materials in person or requesting digital copies is available on the Special Collections and Archives website.
The materials described here are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. There may be specific use or access restrictions on some materials, where possible these restrictions should be listed in the collection description. While no appointment is necessary to visit, we do recommend contacting us at specialcollections@wlu.edu when planning a visit or with questions about our collections. If you have found something you are interested in within this system please include as much information as possible including but not limited to the link, collection information, series information, box number, and folder/item information. The Special Collections and Archives are open Monday-Friday 9-4:30 and is located within Leyburn Library, for more information about policies and procedures please visit https://library.wlu.edu/specialcollections/.
Search Tips:
- To search an exact phrase, use double quotes. (e.g. "Mountain Day" or “Liberty Hall”)
- Searches are not case sensitive.
- To exclude a term from your search, put a minus sign in front of it. (For example, the search “social work” -school will find materials with the phrase “social work” but without the word school.)
- Create advanced searches by clicking the + button to add a new line to your search.
- Use the sections in the top bar to browse repositories, collections, digital objects, etc.