Valerie Still Artifacts and Papers

Abstract

The Valerie Still Artifacts and Papers (dated 1970s-2021, undated; 9 cubic feet, 6 record storage cartons, 2 document boxes, one oversize box, two map folders, one tube, and one framed item) comprise correspondence; scrapbooks, photograph albums, and photographs; books and a manuscript; game statistics, programs, and media guides; film and videocassette tapes; 23 artifacts (3 basketballs, 3 cups, 5 medals, 3 trophies, 1 shirt, 1 sweatshirt, 1 framed jersey, 5 plaques, 2 silver bowl, and one briefcase); honors and awards; eight framed posters, clippings, and photographs; 7 rolled posters and banner; one vinyl record; one coffee bag; and two pieces of jewelry (including the 1982 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship ring, 2020) documenting Valerie Still's basketball career at the University of Kentucky and the American Basketball League, her basketball honors and awards, her writing and philanthropic work after college, and the 1981-1982 UK women's basketball team reunion and Southeastern Conference ring ceremony organized by Still at the UK King Alumni House, October 9, 2020.

Descriptive Summary

Title
Valerie Still Artifacts and Papers
Date
1970s-2021, undated (inclusive)
Creator
Still, Valerie, 1961
Extent
9 Cubic Feet
Subjects
Artifacts
Basketball for women -- Kentucky
Scrapbooks -- United States.
Photograph albums.
Photographs
African American women basketball players
Video tapes.
Motion pictures
Electronic records
Still, Valerie, 1961
Arrangement
Collection is arranged by format into four series: Papers, Artifacts, Books, and Addition 2021ua034
Finding Aid Author
Ruth E. Bryan, Marie Dale, Emily B. Collier
Preferred Citation
2020ua043 : [identification of item], Valerie Still Artifacts and Papers, 1970s-2021, undated, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
Repository
University of Kentucky

Collection Overview

Biography / History
Valerie Still, basketball player and coach, musician, historian, author, educator, consultant, and philanthropist, was born in Camden, New Jersey, on May 14, 1961. Her family included her father and mother, James Fleming Still (1922-1995) and Gwendolyn Ricketts Still (1931-2010), and nine brothers and sisters including former professional football player Art Barry Still (1955- ). After playing basketball at Cherry Hill High School East in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, she enrolled at the University of Kentucky in 1979, joining the basketball team from 1979-1983 and becoming the highest scoring basketball player, male or female, in the history of University of Kentucky basketball with 2,763 points and 1,525 rebounds. After leaving school to play professionally in Italy, she returned to the University of Kentucky and recieved her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science/Pre-Veterinary Medicine in 2000. She received a Master of Arts degree in African American Studies in 2007 followed by a doctorate in Sports Humanities at The Ohio State University. Professionally, she played in Italy for 12 years, winning an Italian Professional Basketball Championship. Still became one of the most popular and dominant players in the league, with numerous all-star appearances and scoring titles. She returned to the United States in 1996 and received two championships with Columbus Quest for the American Basketball League (ABL). After the ABL closed, she joined the Washington Mystics in the Woman's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After retiring from playing, she was an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Mystics and later with the Orlando Miracle.
Still is founder of the Valerie Still Foundation and the socially-conscious coffee company STILL Java. She is also a published author and co-owner of STILL Publications and is co-founder president of the Dr. Clarence B. Jones Institute for Social Advocacy. She has served as a newspaper columnist, host of various television shows, participant on a reality television show, and a live and recording musician. A youth series based on her family history, Still Alive on the Underground Railroad: Recollections of an American Family, was released in 2012 and 2013. Still published two memoirs, Playing Black and Blue: Still I Rise (STILL Productions) and Still Family: An Historic American Family Memoir (University Press of Kentucky) in 2018 and 2025, respectively. From 2024-2025, she served on the Executive Planning Committee for the Lexington (Kentucky) Freedom Train Project, raising funds to erect a monument to abolitionists Lewis and Harriet Hayden. Still has also established the "University of Kentucky Athletics: Women's Basketball Oral History Project" at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History in the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
Still has received many honors and awards, including induction into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame (1996), the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (the only woman in the inaugural class, 2005), Camden County Sports Fall of Fame (2018), Woman's Basketball Hall of Fame (Class of 2019), the University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni (2020, inducted 2021), the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (2023), and University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Distinguisehd Alumni (2024). In 2018, she received the New Jersey State Governor's Jefferson Award for her volunteer/public service work.
Still's ancestors include abolitionist William Still (known as the "father of the Underground Railroad") and Dr. James Still (Still's great-great grandfather and William's older brother), who became a successful 19th-century physician. In 2005, Still campaigned for and petitioned the State of New Jersey to preserve Dr. James Still's medical office in Medford, New Jersey. In 2006, it became the first and only state-owned African American historic site in New Jersey. Still has a son, Aaron, with her former husband, Rob Lock. They were married from 1995-2007.
Sources: 1. "Hall of Distinguished Alumni: Valerie Still," University of Kentucky Alumni Association. https://www.ukalumni.net/s/article/Valerie-Still. Accessed 2/28/2024.
2. "Valerie Still, 2018 Sports Hall of Fame," NJSports.com. https://www.njsportsheroes.com/valeriestillbk.html. Accessed 2/28/2024.
3. "Valerie Still, 2018 Sports Hall of Fame," CamdenCounty.com. https://www.camdencounty.com/valerie-still-2018-sports-hall-of-fame/. Accessed 2/28/2024.
4. "Leadership Team," Clarence B. Jones Institute for Social Advocacy. https://www.drclarencebjonesinstitute.org/about-us/leadership-team/. Accessed 2/28/2024.
5. "Valerie Still," Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Still. Accessed 2/28/2024.
6. "Dr. James Still Office Historic Site Overview," New Jersey State Park Service. https://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/historic/drjamesstill.html. Accessed 2/28/2024.
7. Still, Valerie. Playing Black and Blue: Still I Rise. Still Publications, 2018.
8. Still, Valerie. Email to Ruth E. Bryan, 10/25/2024.
Scope and Content
The Valerie Still Artifacts and Papers (dated 1970s-2021, undated; 9 cubic feet, 6 record storage cartons, 2 document boxes, one oversize box, two map folders, one tube, and one framed item) comprise correspondence; scrapbooks, photograph albums, and photographs; books and a manuscript; game statistics, programs, and media guides; film and videocassette tapes; 23 artifacts (3 basketballs, 3 cups, 5 medals, 3 trophies, 1 shirt, 1 sweatshirt, 1 framed jersey, 5 plaques, 2 silver bowl, and one briefcase); honors and awards; eight framed posters, clippings, and photographs; 7 rolled posters and banner; one vinyl record; one coffee bag; and two pieces of jewelry (including the 1982 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship ring, 2020) documenting Valerie Still's basketball career at the University of Kentucky and the American Basketball League, her basketball honors and awards, her writing and philanthropic work after college, and the 1981-1982 UK women's basketball team reunion and Southeastern Conference ring ceremony organized by Still at the UK King Alumni House, October 9, 2020.

Restrictions on Access and Use

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to researchers by appointment
Use Restrictions
Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.

Contents of the Collection

Papers, 1982-2020, undated

Valerie Still promotional material package, undated

  • Box 5, folder 11
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Photograph, Kodak All Americans (Janet Harris, Valerie Still, Jerilyn Harper, Barbara Kennedy and Bev Smith), 1982

  • Box 5, folder 1
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Photograph, Kodak All Americans (Bev Smith, Jerilyn Harper, Valeria Still, June Olkowski, Janet Harris, Barbara Kennedy and Mary Ostrowski), 1982

  • Box 5, folder 1
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Photograph, Kentucky Lady Kats Basketball (unframed), 1982-1983

  • Box 7
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Kentucky Hall of Fame induction article, undated

  • Box 7
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Official photograph of 1983 Kodak All American team, 1983

  • Box 5, folder 1
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Louisville Courier-Journal article by Billy Reed (eventually featured in Sports Illustrated, unframed), 1983

  • Box 7
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UK Student Alumni publications article (unframed), 1983

  • Box 7
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Photographs, 1982-1996

  • Box 5, folder 2
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Correspondence (from Judy Hall, Jennifer LeMasters, Gloria Singletary and John Calipari), 2000-2020

  • Box 5, folder 6
  • Box 6, folder 19
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"2002 SEC Women Greats Poster" (autographed, unframed), 2002

  • Box 7
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GIG! The Basketball Academy Proposal, 2005

  • Box 5, folder 9
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Playing Black and Blue Still I Rise, emails between UPK and Valerie Still, 2011-2015

  • Box 6, folder 3-4
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National Girls and Women in sports Day 2012 of 1982 SEC WBB Champs (unframed), 2012

  • Box 7
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Kentucky Book Fair information and invitations, 2012

  • Box 5, folder 13
  • Box 7
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Kentucky Book Fair information and invitations, 2013

  • Box 6, folder 1
  • Box 7
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Kentucky Book Fair information and invitations, 2018

  • Box 5, folder 15
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Official Poster of the WBB Hall of Fame Class (unframed), 2019

  • Box 7
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Reunion and Ring Ceremony, women's basketball team invitation, Lexington Mayor's Proclamation, and Lexington Horse Pin, 2020 Oct 9

  • Box 5, folder 3
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Newsweek photograph after breaking the University of Kentucky scoring record (unframed), undated

  • Box 7
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Kentucky Hall of Fame plaque (photocopy, unframed), undated

  • Box 7
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Artifacts, 1970s-2020, undated

"Welcome Home Valerie Still" vinyl banner (approximately 4 feet by 7 feet), undated

  • Item 1
Scope and Contents

Full text on banner reads, "Welcome Home/Valerie Still/#12/Kentucky's All-Time/Leading Scorer and Rebounder"

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Valerie Still's record breaking basketball (donated by Terry Hall), undated

  • Box 3
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AAU Medals (High School Awards as a player) (3 medals), 1970's?

  • Box 5, folder 7
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Kentucky Lady's Basketball ASICS Cup Program (Japan in Japanese), 1981

  • Box 7
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UK Coaches Award Pitcher, 1980-1981

  • Box 2
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UK MVP Award Plaque (2 items), 1980-1983

  • Box 1
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UK Gloria Singlertary Leadership Award Plaque, 1981-1982

  • Box 1
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Lady Kats SEC 1982 Championship Ring, 1982

  • Box 3
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SEC 1982 Champions Poster, 1982

  • Box 7
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Valerie Still UK Mug, 1983

  • Box 2
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Naismith All-American Plaque (first year for this award), 1983

  • Box 1
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1983-1984 UK WBB Team Calendar Poster, 1983-1984

  • Box 7
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1983 UK WBB Salute to Seniors Poster (autographed) (Still, Hedges, and Wise), 1983

  • Box 7
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UK Senior Award Cup 1983, 1983

  • Box 3
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45 record Music by Valerie Still, 1989

  • Box 5, folder 4
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Valerie Still's 1994 Kentucky Basketball Inaugural limited edition sweatshirt (autographed), 1994

  • Box 7
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Women's Sports Foundation Master Sportswomen Award Plaque, 1997

  • Box 1
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1997 American Basketball League Columbus Quest World Championship Poster (Valerie Still), 1997

  • Box 7
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Reebok Valerie Still ABL All Star Trading Card, 1998

  • Box 5, folder 5
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Valerie Still's Foundation Basketball, 1998

  • Box 3
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Fleer Valerie Still WNBA Washington Mystics Trading Card, 2000

  • Box 5, folder 5
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Ohio State Sports Athletic Association medals (2), 2001-2002

  • Box 5, folder 7
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2002 SEC Women's Basketball Greats autographed basketball, 2002

  • Box 2
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SEC Plane Ticket and Table Name Tag, 2002

  • Box 5, folder 8
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SEC Great Award (Clock), 2002

  • Box 4
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Valerie Still's 2003 UK Inaugural Hall of Fame Polo Shirt, 2003

  • Box 7
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Framed number 12 jersey, 2003 Jan. 12

  • Item 2
Scope and Contents

Label on frame states, "This Retired Jersey Is Proudly Presented to Valerie Still, Kentucky Lady Cat 1979-1983, All-Time Leading Scorer, First U.K. Female Student Athlete To Be So Honored, January 12, 2003."

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2005 UK Hall of Fame Trophy (crystal), 2005

  • Box 4
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Lyman T. Johnson Alumni Torch of Excellence Plaque, 2004

  • Box 1
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UK Football VIP 2006 Hall of Fame Weekend pass signed by Valerie Still and brother Art Still, 2006

  • Box 5, folder 10
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"Honor and Celebration: Recognizing the Contribution of African American Women to the University of Kentucky"program, correspondence and certificate (unframd), 2007 Mar

  • Box 7
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Valerie Still's UK 2011 Hall of Fame Weekend Tickets, program, invite and Information, 2011

  • Box 5, folder 12
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2012 Susan B. Feamster Trailblazer Award (crystal), 2012

  • Box 4
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Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Ticket to Welcome Reception, 2019

  • Box 5, folder 16
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Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Induction Ceremony Ticket, 2019

  • Box 5, folder 16
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"Prints of Love" Charm, ASPCA, 2020?

  • Box 5, folder 18
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Books, 2012-2020

"Big Blue Nation" (original manuscript and book cover), 2012

  • Box 6
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Still Alive on The Underground Railroad (vol.1-2), hardback and paperback, 2012

  • Box 6
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Big Blue Nation: Kentucky's Basketball's Native Sons and Daughter, 2012

  • Box 6
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Early Recollections of Dr. James Still (2012 first edition of reprint by Still publications), hardback, 2012

  • Box 6
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The President's House Revisited Behind The Scenes: The Samuel Fraunces Story, 2013

  • Box 6
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Playing Black and Blue: Still I Rise (a memoir by Valerie Still), hardback, 2018

  • Box 6
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Early Recollections of Dr. James Still (paperback reprint 2019 by Still publications, draft), 2019

  • Box 6
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"Salem's Pioneer of Women's Athletics", The Historian, Washington County Historical Society, 2020

  • Box 5, folder 17
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Addition 2021ua034, 1979-2021, undated

Personal calendar, 1981

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Photographs, late 1970s-1980s

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Newspaper clippings, 1979-2003

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Programs and media guides, 1979-2016

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Ephemera, 1979-2016

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Certificates, awards, and honorary events, 1980-2021

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Box score sheets and shot charts, 1981-1983

  • Box 1_2021ua034
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Scrapbooks and photograph albums, late 1970s-1980s

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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"Conversations with Wildcat Legends" (VHS video tapes), undated

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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Rupp from Both Ends of the Bench, 1972

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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"HiLite" (film reel), 1979-1980 season

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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UK Hoops Videoboard feed (CD), undated

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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MVP award bowl (silver plated), 1979-1980 season

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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Lady Kats Basketball briefcase, 1979-1980 season

  • Box 2_2021ua034
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Memorabilia, UK inaugural Hall of Fame Celebration, 2005

  • Item 1_2021ua034
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Memorabilia, UK inaugural Celebrity Golf Classic, 2005

  • Item 2_2021ua034
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Special Collections Research Center - Closed

The Breckinridge Research Room will be closed starting May 11, 2026, and anticipates re-opening Fall semester 2026 in an alternate location for the duration of the King Library renovation.

Reproduction requests will still be available during the closure.

Contact SCRC with questions.

You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.

Special Collections Research Center - Closed

The Breckinridge Research Room will be closed starting May 11, 2026, and anticipates re-opening Fall semester 2026 in an alternate location for the duration of the King Library renovation.

Reproduction requests will still be available during the closure.

Contact SCRC with questions.

Requests

No items have been requested.



Submit a request for SCRC materials.




You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.