NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 24 number 1 - Fall 2003

Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, has generously ensured that the NCSU Libraries received not only the Sigma Xi Collection, but also the funds needed to process the society’s collection and to make it available to researchers. The initial acquisition of the Sigma Xi papers was a noteworthy event in 1997, but subsequent additions to the collection have far eclipsed that donation. [A discussion of the initial gift can be found in Focus, volume 18.2 (1998). To learn more about Sigma Xi, visit its Web site at http://www.sigmaxi.org/.]

Since 2001, Sigma Xi has awarded the NCSU Libraries funds totaling $20,000 to contract with a graduate student in the archival management field to help manage the collection. Jaime Margalotti, a graduate student who began work on the collection while enrolled in NC State's public history program, was selected to process and catalog the material, which entailed several different steps beginning with a survey to evaluate and make preliminary decisions about the collection's content and organization. Through the course of this work, Margalotti also addressed preservation needs and familiarized herself with the society's history.

Sigma Xi was established at Cornell University in 1886 as an honorary society for scientists and engineers. One of the main goals of the society is to foster communication among professionals and provide support for research. Today, Sigma Xi's headquarters is located in the Research Triangle Park, and the society has close to 100,000 members internationally.

On June 30, 2003, Sigma Xi Executive Director Patrick Sculley visited the NCSU Libraries to tour the Sigma Xi Collection, which is part of Special Collections. He wanted to gain an understanding of the work being done on the collection that occupies more than 400 linear feet of shelf space. The library began its processing activities in 1998, which included a survey of the materials donated in 1997. Thanks to the processing funds received from Sigma Xi, Special Collections renewed its processing efforts in 2001 and tackled a new donation of Sigma Xi materials.

Special Collections staff first reviewed the frequency of research requests received over the past few years to determine how the processing funds received from Sigma Xi might best be allocated. Margalotti then began processing the Sigma Xi Chapter Files, which entailed integrating new material into a previously organized series. Chapter Files are organized into two categories, Correspondence and Annual Reports. Upon completion of the Chapter Correspondence Files, Margalotti began processing the Annual Reports Files. The next series to be addressed will be the Executive Files, followed by the Organizational Files, Audio-visual Collection, and Artifacts. The final group of materials will include the archives of American Scientist, a journal published by Sigma Xi, and Sigma Xi's Grants in Aid of Research. This extensive project will conclude with the preparation of an electronic guide to the collection, which should be mounted on the NCSU Libraries' Web site next summer. Special Collections is also planning an exhibition to commemorate the completion of the Sigma Xi Collection next spring.

For information about the Sigma Xi collection or to learn more about contributing a collection and the funds to process it, please call Lois Black, curator of collections, at (919) 515-9059, or send an electronic-mail message to Lois_Black@ncsu.edu.