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Dennis Rowley papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 2014

Content Description

Collection of Dennis Rowley's professional and personal papers. Primarily consists of files maintained by Rowley during the period covering his professional assignments while working for the Harold B. Lee Library, as curator of Archives and Manuscripts (1973-1990), University Archivist (4 years) and Manuscripts Accessioner and Processor and Curator of Literary Collections in the Department of Special Collections and Manuscripts (1990-1996). Also includes files used in Rowley's work as instructor for archival science in the Department of History, and the School of Library and Information Science. Files are arranged by topic and include clippings, articles, reprints, notes, correspondence, publications, research article drafts, lecture notes and other teaching materials. Mostly covers topics related to archives, libraries, Western history, literary authors, and other library related interests. Personal papers include correspondence, photographs, family history documents, files on church and gospel topics, and materials related to Rowley's master's thesis and other schoolwork and research prior to his employment at Brigham Young University. The collection contains significant amounts of published items including booklets, handbooks, archival publications, issues of serials, and some books, although approximately 100 boxes of books were separated from the collection and added to the library's general collections at the time of donation. Materials dated approximately 1942 to 1996, with the bulk from 1973 through 1996.

Dates

  • Other: approximately 1942-1996
  • Majority of material found within 1973-1996

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Restricted. Department records are closed for 35 years from the date of creation of the records, and thereafter open to the public in accordance with the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Restriction Policy.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.

Biographical / Historical

Dennis Rowley (1938-1996) was an archivist and senior librarian at Brigham Young University.

Edward Dennis Rowley was born August 18, 1938 in Hudson, Colorado, to Edward Arthur Rowley and Mary Staples. On 18 April 1961 he married Consuelo Trujillo in Salt Lake City and they had 3 children. In 1965, Rowley received a B.A. in History from the University of Colorado. In 1970 he earned an M.A. in Latin American History from Case Western Reserve University. He earned a Ph.D. in the History of American Literature from Brigham Young University in 1984. Rowley served in the Colorado National Guard and the United States Army. Prior to coming to BYU, Rowley worked as Archives Assistant at Case Western Reserve University, archivist at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Curator of Maps and Manuscripts for the Wisconsin State Historical Society and University Archivist and Executive Director of Rio Grande Historical Collections at New Mexico State University. In 1973, he became the Curator of Archives and Manuscripts at Harold B. Lee Library. He was also an instructor for archival science in the Department of History, and the School of Library and Information Science. In 1990, he became Manuscripts Accessioner and Processor and Curator of Literary Collections in the Department of Special Collections and Manuscripts until he passed away on 12 August 1996.

Extent

64 cartons (64 linear ft.)

8 boxes (4 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Custodial History

Donated in 1996 and 1997 by Consuelo Rowley.

Appraisal

20th Century Mormon and Western Manuscripts.

Related Materials

Related materials in MSS 6073.

Title
Register of Dennis Rowley papers
Status
Unprocessed
Author
Rebecca A. Wiederhold, Technical Services Archivist
Date
2021 April 26
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States