The University Archive - long-term memory of the University and also a public archive

Director Dr. Friederike Jesse on the holdings and use of the University Archives

Archives collect, preserve and make accessible a wealth of different documents, records and objects. And anyone who has ever collected - and who hasn't... - knows how important archiving is. Through precise description and, above all, careful filing, objects can not only be classified but also retrieved so that they can then be used, researched or, for example, presented to the interested public in exhibitions. States, local authorities, but also companies, associations and private individuals preserve knowledge about their history in archives. Every university in Germany also has its own archive. At the University of Wuppertal, researcher Dr. Friederike Jesse has been responsible for this since March 2023.

The diversity of files

"The archive holdings include everything that is relevant to the history of the University of Wuppertal on the one hand and provides legal certainty for certain matters on the other," she explains, pointing to a large number of incoming files that present an enormous range: from the founding phase of the former comprehensive university to doctoral and habilitation procedures and hand files of senior administrative staff. Many are so-called mass files. "These include student files, for example," says Jesse. "Here at the university, they are stored for a relatively long time in the student secretariat before being transferred to the archive. So we currently have the first years from the 1970s here. That's an incredible amount of seemingly uniform files, but they're really exciting, especially for the early days, because it's interesting to see who enrolled."

A safe place for the scientific legacy

Employees often ask themselves what to do with their documents when they retire and, for the sake of simplicity, usually choose the wastepaper basket or the big blue garbage can. However, there is an obligation for university institutions and committees to offer certain documents to the archive after a certain retention period, reports Jesse. This is also formulated in corresponding guidelines, but these are not always available. For this reason, the University Archive regularly provides information about this and about the tasks of the University Archive in general, both on the Internet and at face-to-face events with new employees. What has accumulated over a long academic life can also find its way into the university archive. "When professors or academic staff retire, they can offer their estate to the archive," says Jesse. Sometimes this is done by the active pre-retirees, sometimes only many years later by their relatives or executors. "But we can also become active," Jesse continues, "because the archive is informed about upcoming retirements."

Not just documents and files - the archive's collections

The University of Wuppertal's holdings also include various collections. For example, there is an art collection that is managed by the university archive. "But we also collect many other things related to the history of the university," Jesse continues: "Our collection also includes porcelain, posters and flyers, film and audio documents as well as models of the university. There is also furniture, such as chairs from the university's original furnishings or from certain representative rooms such as the former senate room. We also have exhibits from the mechanical engineering and engineering school, which provides a glimpse into the prehistory of the University of Wuppertal." There are even signs in the collection: As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the university's signage was completely renewed through a project with students from the school of art and design. The prototypes of this concept are now kept in the archive.

The art collection... can also be found in office rooms

The art collection of the University of Wuppertal, which is managed by the university archive, currently comprises around 200 exhibits. Large exhibits can be seen outside the university, such as the sculpture "Zum Licht" by Wuppertal artist Tony Cragg, which was installed in front of the VW building, or the sculpture "Start" by artist Beate Schiff, which is located at the main entrance on Grifflenberg. Another highlight hangs in the university's guest house on Freudenberg: the painting "Kennedy vor Corham" by artist Wolf Vostell was donated by honorary citizens Gustav Adolf and Stella Baum. This and other works of art are also sometimes loaned out for exhibition purposes. "The art collection is growing and we are constantly receiving offers from artists who have a connection to the university." The Stella Baum Art Prize is also awarded every year, with the university always receiving a work of art from the winner.

Most of the artworks, however, and this is something special, hang in the offices of the employees. Jesse explains: "A loan agreement is then drawn up with the respective employees, which states that the pictures may only be hung in the office buildings and must of course be treated with care."

The university archive is open to everyone

Anyone with a "legitimate interest" can use the university archive. But what does that actually mean? "It means that anyone who has a legitimate research interest, for example in the field of family research, wants to work on a scientific topic or wants to deal with certain issues relating to the university, can submit a corresponding request to the archive. If there are no reasons against it, such as embargo periods, then you can come here to look at things," says Jesse. Archives don't usually lend out anything, so you have to come there to look at things and possibly take photographs of documents. Users are often students and academics from the University of Wuppertal, as well as researchers from other universities and private individuals who want to find out whether someone in their family studied here. "If someone wants files relating to a person, this is only possible with the person's consent if they are still alive or if the date of death was ten years ago. In general, access to archive material is only possible after a retention period of usually 30 years."

Accidental finds

After just under a year in the office, Friederike Jesse cannot yet name the most exciting archival item for her. What is exciting, however, is the incredible variety that we have here. And every now and then, coincidences happen that lead the trained archaeologist into the furthest corners of the Brutalist building. "Some time ago, there was a call for help in the house announcements because there was a room that needed to be cleared out. There were documents stored there that no one could find. I got in touch, sifted through the items and had some of them taken directly to the archive. That way we can take our time to see what is worth preserving in the long term."

The university archive is located on the Freudenberg campus in building FD and can be visited by appointment at archiv[at]uni-wuppertal.de.

Uwe Blass

Dr. Friederike Jesse worked for almost 25 years as a researcher in various externally funded projects on African archaeology at the University of Cologne, funded by the German Research Foundation, and has also worked on digital long-term archiving. She has been head of the University Archive at the University of Wuppertal since March 2023.