The Dana Hall School Archives is located in the Nina Heald Webber 1949 Archives Room in the Helen Temple Cooke Library. The Archives houses a wide range of print and digital materials, dating from just prior to the founding of the school in 1881 to the present. Materials include collections of non-current institutional records, such as minutes and reports of boards, departments, and administrative offices, as well as maps, plans, and notes about individual buildings and the campus. Publications by and about the school are also collected, including, catalogs, bulletins, yearbooks, literary magazines, and student newspapers. Other collections are scrapbooks, clothing, letters, memorabilia, items from alumnae and faculty members. The Archives also houses audiovisual materials such as photographs, films, and audio and video recordings of student performances, lectures, school ceremonies, traditions, and other events.
Although access to the Archives is restricted and items may not be borrowed, originals or facsimiles of materials from the collections are available for use by both members of the Dana Hall community and off campus resources. Research requests may be submitted by email (archives@danahall.org), mail or phone (781-235-3010 x2582).
Dana Hall School faculty members are encouraged to use items from Archives collections in class sessions and research projects. Use of materials by classes and other groups must be arranged with an archivist, at least one week in advance by email (archives@danahall.org). In most instances, classes or other groups will meet in the Archives Group Study room or in the library classroom to use original materials. At the discretion of the archivists, some materials may be photocopied or digitized for use in other locations.
The Digital Public Library of America and Digital Commonwealth contain millions of digitized text, images, sounds, and movies Massachusetts and U.S libraries, museums, and archives — including the Dana Hall Archives!