Information for Alumni, Individual, and Outside Organization Donors

We are pleased to receive records of abiding historical value that relate to Princeton University's past. The Archives would be much poorer if not for the generosity of alumni, faculty, and staff and their respective families. We are especially interested in records that might shed light on student life, including diaries, correspondence home, scrapbooks, examination questions, course syllabi and notes, and photographs. If you should come across such records, we would be delighted to make a home for them.

There are some items that we do not need: Nassau Heralds, Bric-a-Bracs, and reunion books published before 1950, most mass-published books pertaining to Princeton, Nassau Hall bicentennial (1956) and other Princeton-related stamps, and reunion clothing. Except for the last instance, we have multiple copies of these items. If you are at all uncertain about whether or not to donate something, feel free to email us. The editorial office of the Princeton Alumni Weekly may be interested in copies of the Nassau Heralds, Bric-a-Bracs, and Freshmen Heralds. Please contact them directly.

Please contact the Mudd Manuscript Library via our Ask Us form to let us know about the potential donation. Once the donation is accpeted, we will ask you to send a completed Princeton University Archives Donor Agreement Form, which you can access either as a webform or as a PDF (if you would prefer to print and mail the form). Analog records can be sent via mail (65 Olden Street, Princeton, NJ, 08544) or donated in person at Mudd Library. We accept digital records from alumni in one of the following ways, whichever is most convenient for the donor:

1. For digital records located on a single computer or device, A) copy the files to an external hard drive or USB drive and B) mail the drive to us (Mudd Manuscript Library, 65 Olden Street, Princeton, NJ, 08544).
2. For digital records located on a single computer or device, A) zip ("Compress" on OS X) the folder you wish to share, B) upload it to Google Drive, and C) share the archival folder (view-only access) with the Mudd Library email address, mudd@princeton.edu. If you do not have a Google Drive account, email us at and we will create and share a folder with you to upload your ZIP file.
3. For digital records created, maintained, or used exclusively or primarily within Google Drive or Dropbox, A) share the archival folder (view-only access) with the Mudd Library email address, mudd@princeton.edu.

Please let us know if you experience any complications in donating your digital records, and we would happy to assist you. After we receive the donor form and the donation of records, we will send a brief acknowledgment to assure you that the records arrived safely. Then, in due course, you will receive a formal letter of acknowledgment from the University Librarian.