Hello, my name is Renee D. James, and I am the curator for the Greater Arizona Collection. I hold an M.A. in History and a Certificate in Archival Management and Historical Editing from New York University as well as an M.L.I.S. from San Jose State University.
I am a transplanted New Yorker, or more specifically, a Long Islander. Prior to my tenure at ASU, the bulk of my professional career had been centered in New York City, where I served as the senior archivist for a private university and biomedical research institution. I have also lived and worked in Los Angeles. During my years in California, I managed and developed a university archives and special collections unit, and engaged with marginalized and underrepresented communities in East L.A.
As curator of the Greater Arizona Collection, I am committed to the management and ongoing development of the collections, and to the continued in-person and online outreach and engagement with our donors, faculty, students and communities.
The Greater Arizona Collection includes over 500 collections consisting of both primary and secondary sources. Materials document the history, culture and people of Arizona and the Southwest. These collections contribute to a greater understanding of the history and communities in the area over many different eras, up to and including the present. Collection materials include published items, personal papers, organizational and business records, congressional and political papers, photograph collections and a myriad of resource materials on the region.
Greater Arizona Collection subjects reflect the wide range of materials collected and people represented, including politics, mining, labor history, Phoenix and Arizona history, water and land management and organizational histories.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that may indeed be true. The McCulloch Brothers Inc. Photographs 1884-1947 is one example of a collection that offers a fascinating glimpse into the Phoenix of the past, and includes photographs of building construction, city streets and views, water development projects and Arizona resorts, to name a few.
One of the most frequently accessed Greater Arizona collections is the Personal and Political Papers of Senator Barry M. Goldwater. This collection includes a vast amount of materials documenting both the senator’s family history and long political career. A recent digitization project has provided online access to the senator’s presidential campaign speeches from 1964. Many other kinds of documents and photographs illustrate Goldwater’s contributions to local and national history.
There are so many amazing collections to explore in the Greater Arizona Collection, and I am so pleased to be here at ASU, and to be working with these collections and with the library communities we serve. You can browse a selection of digitized collections available in ASU’s Digital Repository; for a more detailed overview of the collections, take a look at the Greater Arizona LibGuide. Inquiries can be submitted via Ask an Archivist, or patrons can contact me directly.