Frequently Asked Questions
- Where do I get a copy of my transcript?
- How do I locate an alumnus/a of the University of Louisville?
- How can I restrict my student directory information?
- Does UARC have genealogical materials?
- Does UARC have birth, death and marriage certificates?
- Does UARC have cemetery records, and records relating to those who have donated their bodies for medical research?
- Does UARC have information on bats, including value and markets?
- Does UARC have any archival material relating to television, such as T-Bar-V?
- Where can I find historical materials relating to the Medical School?
- What materials are available online?
- How do I locate materials at UARC?
- Can I check a collection or book out from UARC?
- Do you have advice on doing archival research in general?
- What is a primary source?
- Where can I find primary source materials on Louisville?
- Where can I find primary source materials on Kentucky?
- What is the organization of state colleges and universities in Kentucky?
- Where can I find general information on the University of Louisville?
- Where can I find archival supplies?
Where do I get a copy of my transcript?
Persons seeking their student records and/or transcripts should contact the Registrar's Office. The Registrar's Office may also be reached by telephone at (502) 852-6522.
Return to topHow do I locate an alumnus/a of the University of Louisville?
A good place to check when trying to find former students at the university is the Alumni Association office - the staff there may be able to find the address you seek in a published directory or possibly forward queries to the former students.
Return to topHow can I restrict my student directory information?
Students wishing to restrict disclosure of information via the student directory should complete the Request to Prevent Disclosure, sign it, and bring it or send it to the University Archives and Records Center as instructed on the form.
Return to topDoes UARC have genealogical materials?
Yes, to a limited extent. The University Archives and Records Center has materials that may be useful to genealogists, including a nearly-complete set of city directories for Louisville. University Archives also microfilmed a few local church records, which may assist family research. Such records are cataloged in UARC's catalog, accessible through the University of Louisville Libraries' collective catalog, Minerva.
For information on other Louisville-area archives and historical societies, please refer to our links to other repositories.
Return to topDoes UARC have birth, death, and marriage certificates?
No - Researchers seeking information on Kentucky vital statistics, birth, death, marriage and divorce records, should contact the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics. Check the office's Web site for information on how to order copies of certificates. For information on records created before the Office of Vital Statistics began collecting them, check the Websites of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives or the Kentucky Historical Society.
Return to topDoes UARC have cemetery records, and records relating to those who have donated their bodies for medical research?
The University Archives and Records Center does not hold the records of Eastern, Greenwood, and Schardein Cemeteries. Genealogical data relating to Eastern and Greenwood cemeteries is held by The Filson Historical Society in Louisville. Filson has the original burial records for Eastern Cemetery from 1843 to circa 1915 on microfilm. The Filson library also has index cards for Eastern burials through 1949, but they may not be as accurate as the earlier records. Filson also has microfilm for Greenwood Cemetery original records from 1903 to 1926, and burial index cards for Greenwood from 1931 to 1949, but they, again, may not be as accurate as the earlier records.
Microfilm records relating to these cemeteries are also available at the genealogical research center operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) at 1000 Hurstbourne Parkway, phone 502-636-0471.
Later records for these cemeteries and records of Schardein Cemetery are under the jurisdiction of the court resolving receivership issues for the three cemeteries. The Program of Archaeology here at the University of Louisville is curating these records - this is a separate department from the University Archives. Check the web site related to the status of these cemetery records.
Cemeteries still in operation generally maintain their own records - check with the cemetery office. Family researchers should check death certificates for the names of funeral homes or coroners. If those are listed, records may be available in their respective offices.
Disposition of Bodies Donated for Medical Research
The Bequeathal program at the School of Medicine has its own web site for persons requesting information on possible donation of their own remains or those of a family member. The web site mentions that the remains are ultimately cremated and buried in the University cemetery. That cemetery is the River Valley Cemetery on Cane Run Road. The bequeathal program has some records dating back to 1923. Regarding early death certificates that note "University" where burial site would be reported, the note probably means that the body was given to the anatomy department, but not in every case. The general hospital sent the bodies of stillborn infants and indigents to the university, but they may have been cremated or buried at that time, rather than being research subjects.
Return to topDoes UARC have information on bats, including value and markets?
For information on the value, markets and facts relating to baseball bats in general and specific models, as well as the history of the Hillerich & Bradsby Company, please see their Website (http://www.sluggermuseum.com). H & B Company is the home of the Louisville Slugger bat and the Slugger Museum.
Return to topDoes UARC have any archival material relating to television, such as T-Bar-V?
The University Archives and Records Center does not have video archival material of any local television stations.
Researchers frequently seek material relating to the local television station, WHAS-TV (Channel 11) and specifically its popular children's program of the 1950s and 1960s, T-Bar-V. As a matter of general historical interest, very little footage survives of the show. The station has only a couple of very short clips, which may have been saved as a promo at the time of the show's airing. The show was broadcast live and was not filmed, thus no archive was ever generated. WHAS aired a reunion show (taped in 1980) at the end of 1997 to honor the T-Bar-V star, Cactus Tom Brooks, who had just passed away, since no original shows survived.
The University of Kentucky's Department of Special Collections and Archives has an archive for WAVE-TV of Louisville (Channel 3). For information on that collection, please contact the University of Kentucky.
Return to topWhere can I find historical materials relating to the Medical School?
Researchers seeking information about individuals who attended the University of Louisville's School of Medicine and any of its predecessor schools should contact U of L's Kornhauser Health Sciences Library for information about its History Collection (scroll down the linked page to see information about the History Collection.)
Kornhauser's archivist, Katherine Burger Johnson, is available at Kornhauser on Wednesdays. You may email her directly. As of May 2003, there is a two to three week delay in response due to the backlog of previous requests.
Kornhauser also offers a Database of Medical School Graduates, which lists individuals who attended the medical schools between 1838 and 1908.
Return to topWhat materials are available online?
In addition to basic information on University of Louisville's history, the University Archives and Records Center is able to offer electronic access to descriptions of many of its holdings. Many of our manuscript and permanent records collections are described in Web-accessable (EAD) finding aids; these are made available through the Kentucky Digital Library. Our collections are also represented in the University of Louisville Libraries' catalog, Minerva.
Return to topHow do I locate materials at UARC?
Most of UARC's holdings have been cataloged and added to Minerva - the catalog, so searching the online catalog is a good first step. In addition, we have finding aids for many of our collections, which can be accessed through the Kentucky Digital Library. These finding aids provide more detailed information on the contents and context of the collections. UARC materials do not have call numbers per se, and must be retrieved by UARC staff for use in the UARC reading room.
Return to topCan I check a collection or book out from UARC?
No; because our materials are unique, rare, and sometimes valuable records of individuals and organizations, they cannot circulate. In most cases, however, copies may be made of the materials. See our policies on photocopies for further information.
Return to topDo you have advice on doing archival research in general?
In considering the use of archival materials, researchers should determine what their needs and research interests are and the amount of time and resources they wish to commit. Research in archival repositories may be more time-consuming than research in traditional libraries. Researchers should consult secondary sources devoted to their subjects first. Perhaps those sources have the answers they seek. If not, the secondary materials will assist their evaluation of primary source material. For information about the difference between primary and secondary sources, see the related topics in this FAQ.
Archives collect unique materials and have varying collecting missions, so researchers should identify which archives to contact and/or visit to make good use of their time. Information about repositories holding various types of records relating to Louisville and Kentucky is also available in this FAQ.
When using online search engines, catalogs and other sources, researchers unfamiliar with archives should consider that archival holdings are generally described at the collection, subgroup, or series level, not item level. A researcher may search for an individual's name or other specific reference that does not appear in the description, thus apparently finding there are no matches, but there actually may be relevant materials in the collections. Researchers should search for subjects and broader topics as well as personal names or other specific terms. Check to see if archival holdings relating to those subjects or topics document the era of interest.
Return to topWhat is a primary source?
Primary historical source materials held by archives are original records. These usually take the form of manuscripts, official records of an organization or institution, photographs and other primary source visual images, newspapers, oral history interviews and other original sound recordings, microfilm of original material, diaries, account books, and so forth. Manuscripts in this usage may mean original works created by authors, but may also mean original handwritten or otherwise unpublished papers, including correspondence.
Secondary sources are materials created from original forms of information. These include books, articles, and documentaries. The University Archives maintains a small collection of books as secondary research sources on Louisville and Kentucky. It also has extensive vertical files of newspaper clippings and ephemeral material on U of L and Louisville topics.
Return to topWhere can I find primary source materials on Louisville?
UARC holds significant primary resources for research in late nineteenth and twentieth century history. Its materials concern the history of the University of Louisville and the Louisville metropolitan area. See the page concerning our holdings for a general description. The Libraries' catalog and the finding aids accessible via the Kentucky Virtual Library give details about specific collections. Another notable repository at the University of Louisville is Ekstrom Library's Special Collections, containing the departments of Rare Books and Photographic Archives. In addition, other libraries at the University also contain historical materials.
Outside the University, an important manuscript and photograph collection concerning Louisville and Kentucky history is housed at The Filson Historical Society, a private organization located on Third Street in Old Louisville. The Filson's collection includes private materials relating to the earlier history of the city.
Both of the major governmental units maintain archives for their public records. The City of Louisville Archives has an office at Memorial Auditorium, 970 S. 4th St. Their number is 502-574-3244. The county archives are housed at the Jefferson County Department of Historic Preservation and Archives. Records of current and former public elementary and secondary schools in Louisville and Jefferson County are preserved at the Jefferson County Public Schools archives. The Louisville Free Public Library's Western branch contains significant holdings relating to African American history. The LFPL's main library has material to support genealogical research.
Other academic libraries in the area, such as Bellarmine University, Spalding University, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, also possess primary historical resources pertaining to their history and that of related groups.
Some historical material may be found outside Louisville, at repositories such as the University of Kentucky, and outside the state, including the noted Kentucky holdings in the Lyman Draper Collection at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the Reuben Durrett collection at the University of Chicago. A list of archival online links for Kentucky may be found in the Kentucky Archives and Special Collections page provided at this Web site.
The Kentucky Guide Program data collected by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives has been added to the RLIN database, which is accessible through a Library of Congress RLIN research network gateway. This includes information about smaller repositories that do not have Internet access. This gateway will help researchers identify repositories outside the state as well, which possess Louisville and Kentucky materials.
Return to topWhere can I find primary source materials on Kentucky?
UARC does not actively collect materials relating to other areas of Kentucky. Occasionally, small portions of family papers held by UARC may relate to other parts of the state but such materials are rare in the repository's collections. UARC's holdings center around the history of the University of Louisville and the Louisville metropolitan area. Researchers seeking primary historical materials concerning other parts of the state should check the repositories listed on the Kentucky Archives and Special Collections page. The University of Kentucky, The Filson Historical Society, and the Kentucky Library at Western Kentucky University in particular have large collections of private materials. Researchers seeking public records should consult the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives or local records centers such as county courthouses and city governments.
Some historical material may be found outside the state, including the noted Kentucky holdings in the Lyman Draper Collection at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the Reuben Durrett collection at the University of Chicago.
The Kentucky Guide Program data collected by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives has been added to the RLIN database, which is accessible through a Library of Congress RLIN research network gateway. This includes information about smaller repositories that do not have Internet access. This gateway will help researchers identify repositories outside the state as well, which possess Kentucky materials.
Return to topWhat is the organization of state colleges and universities in Kentucky?
The University of Louisville is one of eight state-assisted public universities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The eight universities are independent entities, so each should be contacted regarding pertinent material in their holdings. The Kentucky system is not structured like the systems in states such as Texas, California, and Tennessee, which have systems of one state university with multiple campuses. To find web sites of Kentucky repositories, both public and private, check links on the Kentucky Archives and Special Collections page provided at this Web site.
Return to topWhere can I find general information on the University of Louisville?
Persons seeking information about attending the university or other general facts will want to begin their quest by going to the University's home page, http://www.louisville.edu, and exploring the choices offered there.
Return to topWhere can I find archival supplies?
Individuals and organizations frequently request information about vendors providing archival-quality supplies. The following information is for general reference only and is not intended to be a complete guide to all archival materials available in the marketplace. The University of Louisville Archives does not endorse any suppliers or certify any claims they may make.
General merchandise stores (Target, K-Mart, and Walmart, among others) are now offering a limited quantity of materials such as photograph albums with acid-free pages.
The following list includes the names of several archival supply vendors with a wider range of acid-free storage materials, including acid-free boxes, folders, envelopes, photo albums and scrapbooks, inert polyester sleeves and negative envelopes, and museum rag board.
These companies also supply professional conservation laboratories with some of the materials and chemicals used in such facilities. These products are not recommended for home use. Some require laboratory safety features. The University of Louisville Archives only recommends the purchase of archival storage and display materials by individuals from these catalogs. Other conservation concerns should be addressed by trained conservators in proper facilities.
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