Auburn University Libraries completes digitization of The Auburn Alumnus magazine

While the COVID-19 virus has interrupted many activities on campus, it has also allowed departments like the Special Collections and Archives Department of Auburn University Libraries to prioritize projects that are difficult to address with the daily flow of users. One such project is the digitization of the complete run of The Auburn Alumnus magazine.

“The Auburn Alumnus magazine ran from 1913 to 1939,” said Greg Schmidt, acting head of Special Collections and Archives and lead on the digitization project. “For those years, it was the go-to source for news of our university’s alumni. These magazines are a view into a different time at Auburn. They’re really fun to take a deep dive into. We are looking forward to making other Auburn-related collections, including historic video and sound recordings accessible to everyone.”

The digitization of the Auburn Alumnus magazine was made possible by a generous gift from the late C. Harry Knowles, an alumnus of Auburn University, and his wife, Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams.

“The COVID-19 virus may have shut down the buildings of Auburn University Libraries, but the libraries have continued to offer the research and instruction services required for successful remote learning and teaching online,” said Shali Zhang, dean of libraries. “However, some departments of AU Libraries are more dependent on access to building collections than others. Those departments have been undertaking projects that daily operating pressures have caused us to put off to a quieter time. The digitizing of The Auburn Alumnus magazine was such a project, and the first two weeks of the remote learning period proved the perfect time to complete it.”

The complete run of The Auburn Alumnus magazine may be accessed at https://archive.org/details/@aulibraries.

Auburn University Libraries serves the more than 30,000 students and faculty of Auburn with a collection in excess of 4.6 million volumes. The Special Collections and Archives Department collects, preserves and houses rare and unique items relating to the histories of Auburn University, the state of Alabama, the southeastern region, the Civil War, Native Americans and aviation. The Auburn University Digital Library develops accessible digital collections of materials that support the teaching and research of Auburn faculty and students, and furthers the mission of Auburn University. These collections are made available to researchers, educators and students in the state, nation and the world.