Purdue University School of Industrial Engineering records related to the Gilbreth Library
Scope and Contents
The Purdue University School of Industrial Engineering records related to the Gilbreth Library includes materials created or collected by the School of Industrial Engineering that documents the maintenance, management, and research interest in the Gilbreth Library collection and space that was previously housed in the School of Industrial Engineering.
Dates
- Creation: 1914 - 2004
Creator
- Carey, Ernestine Gilbreth (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection material is in English.
Access Information
The collection is open for research.
Copyright and Use Information
Copyright of the majority of materials are held by original creators. Some material copyrights held by Purdue University. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.
Historical Information
The Industrial Engineering program emerged from the School of Practical Mechanics, Mechanical Egineering, and the Department of General Engineering in the 1930’s. Dr. Lillian Gilbreth joined the program in 1935. During her tenure at Purdue she established a time and motion study laboratory. In 1939, Dr. Gilbreth donated her and Frank Gilbreth's research papers and library to Purdue University and these materials were divided between the Purdue Libraries... and Industrial Engineering. The materials received by Industrial Engineering became known as the Gilbreth Library and were housed and managed by IE. The space in which they were stored and accessed was also called the Gilbreth Library and was located in Grissom Hall, Room 273.
Dr. Gilbreth retired from Purdue in 1948. After her tenure at Purdue, the Industrial Engineering program reestablished as the School of Industrial Engineering in 1961. In 2009, the materials that comprised the Gilbreth Library were transferred to the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections. Grissom Hall was renovated in 2013 and no longer includes the Gilbreth Library space.
Extent
0.552 Cubic Feet (One legal-size full-width manuscript box)
Arrangement
The Purdue University School of Industrial Engineering records related to the Gilbreth Library is arranged into four series based on activity and use.
- Historical Information
- Renovation projects
- Research on the Gilbreths
- Recordings
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Recordings must be migrated to a digital format before use.
Acquisition Information
Collection transferred from the School of Industrial Engineering in installments, May 29, 2014 and February 16, 2018.
Separated Materials
Faculty minutes and brochures were moved to UA 89, College of Engineering records, Series 7, Industrial Engineering records.
A photocopy of a family photograph and a folder of materials related to the World Engineering Congress in Tokyo, Japan, 1929 were moved to MSP 8, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Library of Management Research and Professional papers.
Processing Information
The original order of the materials has been retained whenever possible. All materials have been housed in acid-free folders and acid-free boxes. Rusted staples have been removed from the materials and plastic paper clips or file folder inserts have been used in their place. All photographs have been rehoused in polyester sleeves. Collection was extensively reprocessed in 2024-2025. Collection file materials related to researchers, donors, funding, conservation, and acquisition were removed and placed in the appropriate collection files. Materials containing funding information for the School of Industrial Engineering and duplicate records were destroyed by secure shredding. Many materials were also photocopies of materials in MSP 7 and MSP 8 and these copies were disposed. A selection of materials were related to other collections (UA 89 and MSP 8) and these materials were separate and incorporated into those collections. Remaining materials were reorganized into new series and materials related to the Gilbreth Network were transferred from MSP 7 and incorporated into this collection. A selection of recordings from 20140529, Gilbreth Library collection, were added to the collection as these recordings were managed by IE. These recordings were digitized by external vendors between 2024 to 2025 by external vendors as part of a Council of Library and Information Resources (CLIR) grant.
Subject
- Title
- Purdue University School of Industrial Engineering records related to the Gilbreth Library
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Saad Mukhtar and Katey Watson
- Date
- 2025-02-10
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- Second edition. First edition completed on 2018-09-28.
Revision Statements
- 2020-05-20: Collection description updated by Adelle Rogers.
- 2025-02-10: Collection was reprocessed by Katey Watson. A majority of the material was transferred to collection files, several items were photocopies of materials in other collections, and materials created/collected by other creators were transferred to relevant collections
Repository Details
Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository
504 Mitch Daniels Boulevard
West Lafayette Indiana 47907 United States
765-494-2839
archives@purdue.edu