The Washburn University Archives and Special Collections offer access Monday through Friday by appointment.
Please note all of the materials in the Archives and Special Collections are non-circulating.
It is always best to make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance of your desire to work in the Washburn University Archives and Special Collections due to both personnel and space constraints.
This is best done by directly contacting the University Archivist Martha Imparato either by e-mail at martha.imparato@washburn.edu and/or telephone at (785) 670-1981.
The Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection is an eclectic, inclusive set of materials dedicated to the study of Kansas literature through the state’s folklore, history, geography, flora, fauna, social fabric and culture. The holdings include novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, histories, biographies, memoirs, letters, scholarly articles, collected folklore, manuscripts and ephemera gathered over 40+ years. Wichita author and musician Irma Wassall donated her literary papers to the Collection and several Kansas authors have donated manuscripts.
In 2009, Tom made arrangements to transfer his Kansas collection to the University Library, and in 2010 he worked with others to establish the Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection Support Fund to enhance, preserve, increase and publicize the collection.
Tom encourages Kansas authors and their supporters to add books, manuscripts and other materials to the collection. To do so, please contact University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Martha Imparato. Several additions were announced and accepted after the inaugural lecture/reading by Steven Hind on April 21, 2010. Guests viewed the collection in its new home in glass fronted bookcases on the lower level of the Library, while enjoying a variety of refreshments.
The Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection welcomes use by any researcher. However, due to the specialized nature of the collection, the items are available by appointment for in-library use only.
The Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award, established by Lisa Hefner and Mark Heitz in honor of their parents, is given annually in celebration of all those who write, who read, and whose lives are enhanced by their engagement with the literature, history and culture of Kansas.
Lisa and Mark explain why they established this award:
A respect for education and the love of books and reading is an integral part of our families, largely due to the influence and example of our parents, Joe and Hazel Heitz and Gene and Reeselynn Hefner. Hazel and Joe, both public school teachers, loved teaching their students the skills to be productive adults and they shared a love for reading and learning. Although neither Gene nor Reeselynn completed a college degree, both stressed the importance of education to their children. Their home was always filled with music and books. Reeselynn, in particular, was an avid reader and always had a room in their home designated as a library,
We are proud of our parents, and they would be pleased and honored to have this award named for them.
Award Winners
2016 Poetry, Sympathetic Magic, by Amy Fleury
2017 Fiction, I was a Revolutionary, by Andrew Milward
2018 Literary Nonfiction, Tilted, by Louise Krug
2019 Poetry, Naming the Fires, by Patricia Traxler
2020 Fiction, The Topeka School, by Ben Lerner
Professor Thomas Fox Averill joined the Washburn English Department in 1980. After the publication of his story collection, Passes at the Moon (Woodley Press,1985), Tom was appointed Writer-in-residence in 1986. He is also the author of two other story collections, Seeing Mona Naked (Watermark, 1989) and Ordinary Genius (Nebraska, 2005), as well as multiple novels: Secrets of the Tsil Café (BlueHen/ Penguin Putnam, 2001, University of New Mexico, 2012), The Slow Air of Ewan MacPherson (BlueHen/Berkley, 2003), rode (University of New Mexico, 2011), A Carol Dickens Christmas (University of New Mexico, 2014) and Found Documents from the Life of Nell Johnson Doerr (University of New Mexico, 2018). Other works include: Oleander's Guide to Kansas: How You Know When You're Here (1996) and Garden Plots: a website of stories, poems, meditations, parables and rants (2007-present).
In 1991 he edited a collection of affectionate essays on Kansas, What Kansas Means to Me, for the University of Kansas Press. Tom has taught creative writing and Kansas literature for 30 years and is the founder and first director of the Washburn University Center for Kansas Studies. His most recent Center project is a Map of Kansas Literature.
The James R. Mead Library, donated by his grandson Schuyler Jones, gives a window into the reading habits of a prominent 19th Century Kansan and his family with over 400 books dating from 1763-1933. James R. Mead was a trader, adventurer, friend to Native Americans and one of the founders of Wichita.
The William I. Koch Art History Collection is a special collection within the University Library. Donated through the generosity of William I. Koch, the collection consists of more than 12,000 monographs, exhibition catalogs, periodical volumes, auction catalogs and ephemera items covering the history of visual arts, photography and architecture.
Bill Koch is founder and president of The Oxbow Group, a diversified holding company included by Forbes as one of the 500 largest privately held companies in America. The Oxbow Group consists of more than 30 companies specializing in producing electricity from alternative sources such as wind and geothermal sources, coal and petroleum coke trading, oil production, composite pipe manufacturing and real estate development.
Koch's savvy isn't limited to his business success in the oil industry. His winning the 1992 America's Cup demonstrated that competitive sailing isn't limited to only those few for whom it's a career. He launched an even more daring experiment with an all-female America's Cup Crew in 1995.
A native of Wichita, Koch also is well known for his philanthropic endeavors and his leadership role in developing the Koch Crime Commission, which encourages innovative local solutions by bringing together experts and citizens from across the nation and Kansas.
While the collection focuses primarily on European and American arts and artists from the mid-19th through mid-20th centuries, virtually all time periods are represented. A substantial collection of catalogues raisonnes, limited editions, and major reference works are also included.
