Cut and Paste: Scrapbooking the Union Experience

This exhibition showcases various scrapbooks, spanning from the end of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, produced by Union students, family members, clubs and organizations, and staff and faculty. These scrapbooks give us an invaluable first-hand snapshot of campus life at various moments through the photographs, anecdotes, artifacts, correspondence, memorabilia, and ephemera that members of the Union community felt were worthy of documenting and preserving. These scrapbooks exist in various states–they have been crafted with different types of paper, glue, tape, and writing utensils. Some are in bound books, others have been disassembled. It is important that we continue to preserve all of these scrapbooks according to their unique conservation needs, so that these invaluable historical materials can be available to the next generation of Union community members.

At Special Collections and Archives, we are deeply committed to continually acquiring materials that showcase the vast diversity of the Union experience. We invite and encourage you to share materials related to your time at Union College.

Selected Images from the Exhibition:

Location:

This exhibit can be found in the Beuth Atrium, which is on the 1st floor of Schaffer Library, just behind the reference desk. 

Digital Scrapbooking Project:

Since much of the documentation of your Union experience is likely digital, we have initiated a digital scrapbooking project. We invite you to document your unique Union experience to this template. Please include your name and add up to four photographs.

Then, you can either email your digital scrapbooks to Special Collections or submit your digital scrapbook via this Google Form. 

Acknowledgements: 

This exhibition was curated by Gabriella Baratier, Class of 2025. Special thanks goes to Sarah Schmidt, Director of Special Collections and Archives, and Matthew Golebiewski, Processing and Records Management Archivist.