DSU Archives: Home

Located in the lower level of the Karl E. Mundt Library at Madison, South Dakota, the DSU Archives collects, organizes, and preserves materials that document the history of the University. The text and images found on this website are intended to convey that history from the University's beginning in 1881 as a "Normal School" for the preparation of teachers.

The archives houses the papers of Senator Karl E. Mundt, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1939-1948, and the Senate from 1948-1973. The Karl E. Mundt Collection covers the period from his birth in 1900, to his death from complications of stroke in 1974, and subsequent years of the charitable Karl E. Mundt Historical & Educational Foundation, which operated from 1962-2016.

Finding aids are tools used by researchers and archivists to describe and keep track of archival collections and materials. The finding aids found here describe the contents of DSU's archives; details on material types, date of creation, location of the material, etc.; and descriptions that give context to the materials. Our biggest collection is the Karl E. Mundt collection.

If you would like to request to view physical materials, email our archivist with the name of the collection, record group, and box number of the materials you would like to see, as well as the date you plan to visit. Patrons can find and request archive materials through ArchivesSpace: https://dsuarchives.libraryhost.com/repositories/3

The Obituary Index contains a searchable list of obituaries published in the local newspaper, the Madison Daily Leader. The index can be found here. To use the index, simply use the search bar at the top of the index. You can also order the index by last name, first name, middle initial, maiden name, birthplace, obituary date, and page/column by selecting the respective column. Note that the table and search bar may not show up immediately due to the large size of the data.

To request the full obituary, fill out the Obituary Request Form: https://apps.dsu.edu/forms/general/obituary-request.aspx.