Western University Archives and Special Collections

Western University Archives and Special Collections Western Archives was formally established as part of Western Libraries in 2001. While the former J.J.

Western Archives acquires, preserves and makes available records relating to the history of the university, affiliated organizations and the papers of private individuals, organizations and companies. In 2004 The James Alexander and Ellen Rea Benson Special Collection was merged with Western Archives. Talman Regional Collection no longer exists as a separate entity, its contents have been incorpo

rated into Western Archives. The Archives at Western acquires, preserves and makes available records relating to the history of the university, affiliated organizations and the papers of private individuals, organizations and companies. The holdings of the Archives support the teaching, research and administration of the university. The Archives and Research Collections Centre (ARCC) is the home of Western Archives. In addition to housing archival records, the ARCC also holds low and medium use library items and semi-active university records.

The Holiday season is upon us! The Reading Room will be closed for the Holidays on Monday December 22 at 4pm, and will r...
12/19/2025

The Holiday season is upon us!

The Reading Room will be closed for the Holidays on Monday December 22 at 4pm, and will reopen on Monday January 5 at 10am.

The photograph below was published in the London Free Press newspaper on Friday December 16, 1954, with the caption:

"Imaginative members of Western's botany department came up with this weirdly attractive "Christmas tree" - a Texas cactus with all the season's trimmings. Pat Osborne, left of Ingersoll is about to hand Barb Woodall, Woodstock a candy cane hidden behind a mass of thorns. Decorations include small laboratory bottles filled with colored water."

It’s a cold one out there today! Be sure to bundle up if you are coming to campus!Good luck to those writing exams 😊 we ...
12/15/2025

It’s a cold one out there today! Be sure to bundle up if you are coming to campus!

Good luck to those writing exams 😊 we hope you make time to relax and enjoy the snow!

Photograph from The London Free Press Collection of Photographic Negatives, 1954.

Exams start soon! Make sure to give yourself lots of time to study and take lots of breaks!Check out this photograph and...
12/08/2025

Exams start soon!

Make sure to give yourself lots of time to study and take lots of breaks!

Check out this photograph and caption published in the London Free Press newspaper on April 22, 1954, of Ron Laplante studying with his dog Clancy:

"When a Dog's Life is the Happiest -- Ron Laplante a fourth year journalism student at Western gets a sympathetic look of consolation from 'Clancy' while he pores over a sheaf of notes in a last-minute cram for today's exam.”

Happy Monday everyone!There is a dusting of snow on campus this morning, and it won’t be long until we can all participa...
12/01/2025

Happy Monday everyone!

There is a dusting of snow on campus this morning, and it won’t be long until we can all participate in fun snowy activities! Check out this photograph of a snowman from The London Free Press Collection of Photographic Negatives, 1954.

 Weldon Library at Western has experienced many transformations throughout the years! The transformation of library retr...
11/24/2025



Weldon Library at Western has experienced many transformations throughout the years! The transformation of library retrieval systems from card catalogues to digital workstations is illustrated in these photographs taken at D.B. Weldon Library. The top, from 1973, displays the numerous cabinets used to house the catalogue cards. Beginning in 1985, computer stations made their first appearance!

Photograph from the Way We Were collection.

It sure is a snowy day on Western’s campus. Everybody stay safe – and watch your step like these people in the photo!Pho...
11/17/2025

It sure is a snowy day on Western’s campus. Everybody stay safe – and watch your step like these people in the photo!

Photograph from the London Free Press Collection of Photographic Negatives, 1954.

In honour of Remembrance Day we are sharing a list of graduates from Victoria Hospital who served. This list was found i...
11/11/2025

In honour of Remembrance Day we are sharing a list of graduates from Victoria Hospital who served. This list was found in a scrapbook from a recent acquisition from the London Health Sciences Centre.

Have you heard of the books containing arsenic discovered in Western University’s libraries? They were identified by thi...
11/10/2025

Have you heard of the books containing arsenic discovered in Western University’s libraries? They were identified by third year English student Karen Wen, and we are sharing some photos of the books in our collection! They have green covers, and should be handled with gloves.

Happy reading week! P.S. we hope you remembered to turn your clocks back this weekend! Photograph from The London Free P...
11/03/2025

Happy reading week!

P.S. we hope you remembered to turn your clocks back this weekend!

Photograph from The London Free Press Collection of Photographic Negatives, 1955.

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween!

Did you know that we have many monster themed comic books in our collection? Perfect for Halloween and comic book fans. Many of the comics include popular figures, like Frankenstein's monster and Dracula!

Address

Archives And Research Collections Centre, Western University
London, ON
N6A3K7

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Western University Archives and Special Collections posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to Western University Archives and Special Collections:

Share