History and Scope of the Index
Mr. Ed Sheaffer (B.S. Business Education, Class of 1973, M.B.A. Business Education, Class of 1976) has produced a unique and extraordinary index to news and archival sources concerning individuals and events at Shippensburg University and in the Shippensburg, Pennsylvania area. A key goal of this work is to index the array of newspapers that eventually merge together to become the Shippensburg News Chronicle, covering the years 1849-1970 and 1997-2022. Coverage also includes a wide selection of smaller local newspapers and extensive coverage of Shippensburg University as found in a wide variety of files in the SU Archives and SU Publications, including the Campus Reflector, Slate, and SU Fact and SSC Fact. For fuller details, please consult the “Titles and sources indexed” page.
Ed began researching local newspapers on microfilm but quickly found his way to the Shippensburg University Archives and Special Collections. Ed’s work in the Archives spanned roughly 10-15 years of daunting research and record-keeping, as he also continued his work with the newspaper research. Ed had the forward-thinking idea to index his research findings along the way.
The original Ed Sheaffer Index is in Excel format that a team from the Shippensburg University IT department turned into this invaluable database. Archival indexes make discovery, accessibility, and retrieval efficient, saving researchers and archivists precious time and energy. This index in its database format enables quick keyword searching of university archival resources and local newspapers.
User Tips
The database is an index, not a full text database. The results from your search will lead you to citations found in archival and/or newspaper sources that contain the relevant information. Most of the newspapers are on microfilm, while some are available online. For a full list of relevant newspapers available through the Shippensburg University library, please consult our guide to South Central Pennsylvania Newspapers (Microform and Digital). Please see someone at the circulation or reference desk for assistance accessing microfilm newspapers.
All other sources can be found in the Shippensburg University Archives. To access that information:
- Make an appointment with Melanie Reed (mareed@ship.edu) or call 717-477-1325 or 717-477-1516
- Visit the archives during walk-in hours, Mon & Wed 3pm-5pm during regular semesters
- Email the Archives (specialcollections@ship.edu) and request scans of the information you need. Please keep in mind that you may be asked to come to the archives to do the research.
***It is always a good idea when accessing materials from the archives to contact the archivist for other primary resources that relate to your research topic.
Acknowledgements
The library faculty and staff wish to thank Mr. Ed Sheaffer for his devotion to this labor of love to make such a rich array of sources on the history of Shippensburg and the University available to all!
