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Archives & Special Collections Department: Home

Home to the historical records of Bowie State University, including publications and photographs. Here you'll also find Special Collections materials such as rare books, manuscript collections, records of local organizations, vertical files, and ephemera.

ARSPC Hours

The Archives & Special Collection is open by appointment only. Please submit your request through the online form found above.

Contact the Archives and Special Collections Librarian at 301-860-3627.

Initatives at the Archives

TML Thesis/Disseration Submission Form QR Code

Submit Your Thesis/Disseration Today!

Scan the QR code or or click the Submission Fom Link to fill out the form and upload your successfully defended Thesis or Disseration. Check out the Unviersity Archives Page for information about the full Submission process. 

Call for Yearbooks Flyer stating "Attention Alumni! Help us expand our collection. If you are willing to donate we are looking for yearbooks from the early 50s, late 70s,early 80s, and 90s to present." The Flyer also has a QR code with the caption "Scan for more information." At the bottom of the flyer are the social media handles for Instagram, @bsu_tmlibrary, and Facebook, @Thrugood Marshall Library. The flyer also has a black and white class photo of around 34 students in their cap and gowns standing in front of one of the unnamed historic school buildings.

Calling all Bowie State Alumni! 🎓

The Archives and Special Collections Department (ARSPC) is on a mission to expand our yearbook collection, and we need your help! If you’re willing to donate a yearbook or know a classmate who might be, please click on the link and fill out the form.

HBCU Library Alliance logo: a stylized purple tree growning out of a book with "HBCU Library Alliance" underneath the book.

HBCU Library Alliance Digital Trust

Please see our online collection of 44 historic images (and counting) at the HBCU Library Alliance Digital Collections, or inquire for more information. 

Our Mission

The Department of Archives and Special Collections (ARSPC) in the Thurgood Marshall Library of Bowie State University is the repository of record for inactive permanent records that document the activities, policies, administration and history of Bowie State University (University Archives). Special Collections acquires materials that serve to enhance the understanding of the University and its history by documenting local, regional, and national African-American history and education, and maintains existing collections of organizations, individuals, and historic materials.  

The primary mission of ARSPC is to acquire, arrange, describe, preserve and make accessible the primary source materials documenting the history and administration of Bowie State University, in accordance with accepted archival principles. In keeping with the library's commitment to serve students, faculty, and the community, ARSPC promotes the use of these materials by the Bowie State University community, scholars, and the public. In addition the staff of ARSPC will disseminate information about the holdings of Archives & Special Collections through online catalogs, bibliographic instruction, exhibits, and campus publications. 

BSU Photo Collection

A historic, black and white photo of students dancing in a ceremony hall. There are around 15 female students dancing in line on the dance floor. Surrounding the dance floor are empty tables.

Help us Identify People, Places, and Dates in our Photo Collection

The Archives and Special Collections has an extensive photo collection, but we need your help to identify people, places, and dates shown in many of our photos. For more information, contact the Archives and Special Collections Librarian at archives@bowiestate.edu. 

A historic, black and white photo from 1931 depicting a full class room of grade students being helped by student teachers in a mock classroom setting.

Classroom Experience for Students Training to be Teachers, 1931

For more information about our Photo Collection please contact the Archives and Special Collections Librarian. 

A historic, black and white photo of Don Speed Smith Goodloe, postioned second from the right, with his three sons. They stand in front the their house and car. The photo is also tilted slightly to the right. Mr. Goodloe was the first Principal of the School at its current location in Bowie, Maryland

First Head of School, Dr. Don Speed S. Goodloe, with his Three Sons

For more information about our Photo Collection please contact the Archives and Special Collections Librarian. 

A historic, black and white photo of a group of seven students and one professor working in the Physicis lab. They are sitting at various points in the lab either working to calibrate different machines for their experiment or observing the experiment.

William Crawford Science Building's Physics Lab

For more information about our Photo Collection please contact the Archives and Special Collections Librarian. 

New Collections at the Archives

A color portrait of Beatrice Pitts-Payne. She is dressed in a white blouse with a blue and white scarf pined with a brooch around her shoulders. She is also wear a pari of large red framed glasse. This photo was utilized for her memorial service pamphlet.

Beatrice Pitts-Payne Collection

Check out the life and history of our oldest Alumni, Beatrice Pitts-Payne. Graduating from Bowie State Normal School in 1928, Beatrice Pitts-Payne went on the have a prolific teaching career and became incredibly involved in the Alumni Association for BSU. Mrs. Payne lived a life full of joy and dedication until her passing in August of 2015, when she was 106 years old. 

Torch of Knowledge Book Cover. The top half of the cover is taken up by the title and a description of the book. The description reads: "The Torch of Knowledge, A History of Bowie State University. Discover Bowie State University in this new limitied-edition book. THis 9"x12" 200 page volume takes the reader from the school's humble beginnings in Baltimore, Maryland, as a one-room school in a Bapist church to its development into a normal school, a theachers college, and a liberal arts collece, culminating in its present status as a coprehensive university produing technologically qualified and liberally educated men and women. Don't miss your opportunity to capture BSU's history! Order your copy today, quantities are limitied! for more information or to oder your copy contact: Shari Webb, BSU Bookstore Manager" it ends with the contact information for Shari Webb. But please be advised, you can no longer order or purchase a copy of the book. Right next to the contact information is the 150th special Bowie State University Logo that incorporates the Flame motif in the logo. The bottom half of the cover has three photos, the largest depicting a historic mock classroom setting.The second, a group of three students speaking with the then President of the School, Dr. Mickey L. Burnim. Finally, the third photo shows students rally support to go vote in a local election

Now Available! Torch of Knowledge

Our limited edition, full-color, fully-illustrated 200-page book on the history of Bowie State University. The authors, Drs. George and Esther Ward Simmons, researched in depth to provide a definitive exploration into the earliest origins of the school just after the Civil War in Baltimore, to the current times as a liberal arts university. For additional information check out the BSU History Documents Collection. 

Book Cover of "Running from Bondage" by Dr. Karen Cook Bell. has a blue to orange ombre background and reads: Karen Cook Bell, "Running from Bondage, Enslaved Women and Their Remarkable Fight for Freedom in Revolutionary America." Between the title and subtitle is a print of a black woman, most likely a slave, carying a satchel bag.

Faculty Publication Collection

Check out our ever growing Faculty Publication Collection on BSU Discovery. Our faculty have published on topics ranging from History to Biology and more.