Library Guides: Cold War: Archival & Primary Resources At Western

University Archives

Western Washington University Board of Trustees Minutes Historical Collection
Contains black-and-white scans of original Board minutes from April 1895 through December 2019. The scans for each year are grouped by month into searchable PDF documents. (University Archives and Record Management | Select digital content available)

The University Archives is the sole, official repository for the records of WWU (see university policy POL-U4910.01) and houses more than 3000 linear feet of archival material documenting the history of Western from 1895 to the present. This includes records in all formats (bound volumes, loose paper, photographic, audiovisual, digital) and from all major campus units including the Board of Trustees, President, Vice Presidents, Colleges, Academic Programs, Administrative/business units, and Associated Students—even Western Libraries.

Contact at: university.archives@wwu.edu (Tel 360 650 3124)

Special Collections - Larger Collections

Special Collections - Oral History Program
Recorded memories and observations about Western's history, from participants including former faculty members, administrators, staff, alumni, and Campus School students.
Special Collections - Campus History Collection
Western Student Newspapers [ONLINE COLLECTION]

Special Collections - Specific Titles

Locating Primary Sources on Campus

Many of the resources housed by Archives & Special Collections document different aspects of campus, local and regional history. Contact staff at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Special Collections and University Archives with questions about how to find and access resources on a particular topic.

Center for Pacific Northwest Studies

American Civil Liberties Union, Whatcom County Records
Material generated at the national, state, and local levels of the ACLU covering a range of topics, including mandatory registration for the Selective Service, abortion rights, separation of church and state, sexual harassment, and criminal code reform.

Central American Refugee Assistance Records
Records documenting the activities and concerns of a group in Whatcom County, Washington.
CPNWS Miscellaneous Manuscript Collection
Includes items re: the Hanford Nuclear site, Skagit Nuclear Power project and civil defense.
CPNWS Pamphlet Collection
Gay and Lesbian Miscellaneous Manuscript Collection
The collection contains one folder of records reflecting the concerns and actions of women at the Puget Sound Women's Peace Camp circa 1983-1984. Posters and fliers document anti-nuclear protests at the Boeing Cruise Missile Plant in Kent, Washington, and include the 1985 publication We Are Ordinary Women: A Chronicle of the Puget Sound Women's Peace Camp.
KVOS Channel 12 Films
League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County Records
Metcalf (Jack) Congressional Papers
The Jack Metcalf Papers document two decades of Metcalf’s political career as a Washington State Senator and as Representative for Washington State’s 2nd Congressional District. Collection materials comprise a small amount of records documenting Metcalf's activities during his final terms in the Washington State Legislature, and legislative issue files, correspondence, press files and awards from Metcalf's congressional offices in Washington D.C. and Everett, Washington.
Skagitonians Concerned About Nuclear Plants Records
documents the history and activities of Skagitonians Concerned About Nuclear Plants and other peace groups in Skagit County, Washington from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Swift (Al) Congressional Papers
Records contain information on environmental issues including nuclear waste.
Western Washington University Centennial Oral History Project
Whatcom County Nuclear Freeze Records
Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze records document the activities of this local branch of the national anti-nuclear proliferation organization that was active in the early to mid 1980s. Material includes newsletters, newspaper clippings, information regarding the pairing relationship with Bellingham's sister city, Nakhodka USSR, as well as informational articles that pertain to nuclear weapons.