Special Collections and Archives collects, organizes, preserves, and makes accessible materials of enduring value that support the research strengths of the university. The University Archives houses materials which document the history of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Special Collections focus on the following areas: the history of aerospace, flight, and space, science fiction literature, local and regional politics, and the history and culture of Alabama’s Tennessee River Valley. Special Collections seeks to be one of the nation’s preeminent locations for space history research.
Our collection contains:
- Over 100 archival collections
- Over 1000 linear feet of material which document individuals and programs related to space history; major collections include Saturn V, Apollo, David Christensen, Konrad Dannenberg, Walter Jacobi, Charles A. Lundquist, and Gerhard Reisig.
- Over 800 linear feet of the Congressional Papers of Robert "Bob" Jones and Robert "Bud" Cramer (open 2019).
- Local history collections including those of the Goldsmith-Schiffman Family, Harrison Brothers Hardware, Harvie Jones, and Frances Roberts.
- An extensive collection of 3000 science fiction monographs circa 1920-present.
- 10,000 Special Collections monographs in English, German, and Russian which focus on aerospace, space history, and local history.
- The UAH Historical Collection, which includes the papers of Phillip Mason, Ben Graves, and Rudolf Hermann.
- 100 plus oral history interviews which focus on space history.
