The Keene State College Archives and Special Collections collects, preserves, and makes accessible wide-ranging materials from school history to modern poetry to Holocaust materials. It serves as an educational resource for not only our students, but the Keene community at large. We work with various departments on campus to deliver and enforce primary source literacy for the students interacting with the materials, reinforcing the importance of using analogue material to learn more about a specific discipline. Our Collection Development Policy aims to outline our collection areas and the various media types we preserve. 

We have five major areas in which we collect: College History, Orang Asli, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Modern Poetry, and Children’s Literature.  

The KSC College Archive collects and preserves the records of Keene State College that document the history of the school from its inception in 1909 and up the present. The records include administrative and department records, reports and publications, photographs and scrapbooks, and school memorabilia. The Archives also holds a collection of course catalogs, school yearbooks, and student newspapers. 

The Orang Asli Archive (OAA) is a repository for published and unpublished documents, films, tapes and other recordings relevant to Orang Asli peoples and cultures. The Orang Asli are the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia and comprise about 17 to 20 different groups. The OAA aims to facilitate research in Orang Asli studies by preserving documentary materials and making them available to researchers. The archive, a part of the Keene State College Special Collections, include books, periodicals, scholarly research, government documents, journalistic accounts, reports, field notes, correspondence, theses and academic studies from scholars in the field of Orang Asli research. Maps, photographs, slides, videotapes and audiotapes are also collected. The OAA also has a sharing agreement with the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) to provide each other with copies of important documents whenever possible. 

The Holocaust and Genocide Studies Collection is a special collection comprised of books, photographs, survivor passports, personal letters, as well as Nazi memorabilia. This collection is used directly by the Cohen Institute as well as within the Holocaust and Genocide Studies program here at Keene State. Through the use of events, exhibitions, and classroom lessons, this collection continues to educate not only the students on campus, but community members at large. The purpose of this collection is to educate individuals about the significance of the Holocaust while emphasizing the importance of remembrance and honoring the memory of those who were impacted by the events of the Holocaust. 

Our Modern Poetry Collection records are primarily of the 20th-and-21st century from the United States and Canada, with selections of non-English poetry in translation. Our records include archival manuscripts, books, and periodicals. 

Our Children’s Literature Collection is comprised of various materials such as, advanced reader's copies, associated book reviews, biographical material, correspondence, galleys, illustrations/sketches, manuscript drafts, news clippings, research notes