Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

From rare books to floppy disks: “Forms and Functions” exhibition on display at Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

January 28th, 2026

Purdue University Archives and Special Collections (ASC) is excited to announce a new exhibition, “Forms and Functions: A Selection of Materials within Purdue University Archives and Special Collections.” The exhibition showcases the wide variety of items found in archives and explains how archivists classify these materials. It also explores common questions about historical formats and technologies, such as how older media were used and preserved.

About the exhibition

“Forms and Functions” was co-curated by Clinical Assistant Professor and Barron Hilton Archivist for Flight and Space Exploration Jo Otremba, seven archivists, and 11 student employees. The exhibition features materials from more than 40 collections dating from the 15th century to the present day. Items on display are connected to notable individuals such as John Purdue, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Nobel Prize recipient Herbert Brown, William Henry Harrison, Orville Redenbacher, and illustrators Harold Gray (creator of Little Orphan Annie) and George Wildman (illustrator for Popeye comics), among others. The exhibition provides an overview of the types of materials preserved and made accessible by ASC and reflects the kinds of items archivists and student employees work with daily.

The central focus of “Forms and Functions” is to demonstrate the diversity of archival materials and includes materials from all of ASC’s special collecting areas. Each item on display represents a different collection and a distinct type of material. Exhibit labels use standardized form and genre terms from the Getty Research Institute’s Art & Architecture Thesaurus, which archivists use to describe materials consistently and support discovery and access.

These descriptive terms help researchers explore questions such as:

• How are printing plates and engravings similar or different?
• Which collections at ASC include love letters?
• What exactly is a floppy disk, and how was it used?

For ASC’s 11 student employees, “Forms and Functions” served as a hands-on learning experience. Students participated in all stages of development, including selecting materials, writing descriptions, creating labels, and installing the exhibition. Many of the student co-curators are interested in future careers in archives, libraries, or museums, and the exhibition provided mentorship and insight into this area of archival work.

“Forms and Functions” is free and open to the public during ASC’s regular hours, Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM throughout the spring 2026 semester, with modified hours during the summer. The exhibition is located at the Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center on the fourth floor of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (HSSE) Library in Stewart Center and runs until June 26.

For questions, please contact archives@purdue.edu. 

Acknowledgement

ASC thanks the student employees and archivists whose time, creativity, and expertise made “Forms and Functions” possible. Their collaborative work—from selecting materials to installing the exhibition—was essential to bringing it to life.

The exhibition team includes the following contributors:

• Lead curator: Jo Otremba
• Archivist co-curators: Rich Bernier, Adriana Harmeyer, Wayne Hastings, Ben Parnin, Sara Pettinger, Stephanie Schmitz, and Katey Watson
• Student employee co-curators: Camryn Beeman, Hannah Cano, Vineeta Chen, Roma Koroneos, Rafah Mir, Eli Patton, Lily Sharp, Max Splaine, Scarlett Strong, Poseidon Thompson, and Mallory Wells