A more intimate history, however, is preserved in a single room on the campus, the archives of the Doheny library. Lively differences of opinion exist among scholars regarding the terms archives and historical manuscripts. Any collection of old material does not, however, constitute archival material. An archive is the record of the activity of an organization. It is a shadow of the organization itself.
Archival material is chiefly manuscript material.
It relates primarily to the business affairs of the individual institution which keeps the record for its own use. The quality which distinguishes an archive from a library is its uniqueness. A draft of the night letter President Bovard sent the Reverend John Dickinson asking him to take a position at the school. Pictures and stories of the sophomore hats. The constitution of the class of 1921.