Archives and Special Collections at NYSID: Institutional Archives

In 2016, NYSID celebrated its centennial. To mark the occasion, the school published a history of the college, 100 Years of New York School of Interior Design: 1916–2016  which can be found online here.  A timeline of NYSID’s history can be found here. 

The NYSID Institutional Archives documents the history of the college and actively supports the ongoing administrative, operational, and records management activities of the college. Materials in the collection include: newsletters, course catalogs, brochures and ephemera; selected examples of student and faculty work and course-related materials reflecting the evolution of interior design pedagogy at NYSID; materials related to milestones in the life of the College including commencements, building renovations, special events and exhibitions; photographs of faculty, staff, and special events.

The Archives houses historic student records of the College.  Records produced within the last 50 years are kept with the Registrar’s Office, all else is transferred to the archives. The objective is to preserve and catalog this historic information for the College and to support research.  Even though the administrative value of historic student records is considered inactive, all student information is protected by FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and all requests for student record information must be approved by the NYSID Registrar.  Their contact information can be found here.

The collection also contains materials related to the administrative, operational and records management activities of NYSID including subject files and reports from the primary administrative offices of NYSID:

• Office of Academic Affairs
• Finance and Administration
• Human Resources
• Office of the Registrar
• Office of External Relations
• Office of Development and Alumni Relations
• Office of Admissions
• Facilities
• Technology Services (IT)
• NYSID Library
• Accreditation reports and supporting documentation
• Approved annual budgets and audit reports

Collection Development Guidelines

The NYSID Institutional Archives accepts donations of NYSID-related materials from alumni, former staff and faculty, and friends and/or family of these individuals.  Donations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Library Director and Archivist/Librarian. No goods or services are to be exchanged for the item(s).

The NYSID Institutional Archives actively seeks to collect the following materials:

• Photographs of buildings, students, faculty and staff
• Clippings of school and student/alumni news
• Home-study lessons
• Representative examples of course-related materials such as syllabi, course readings, and student work, particularly from the early years of the College
• Newsletters, promotional materials, special bulletins
• Commencement materials