Research

We look forward to working with you when you visit the archives. If you plan to use the archives for research, please contact us via this form. Note that we require two weeks’ notice for research appointments. Baylor Faculty, Staff, and Students, please give us 48 hours’ notice to pull materials.

The Baylor Collections of Political Materials is located on the first floor in the W. R. Poage Library at 201 Baylor Avenue. The red "Xs" on the map below indicate entrance doors. Researchers should meet the archivist in the Reading Room. Please call if you need directions or would like to arrange a tour. Email bcpm@baylor.edu or phone 254-710-3540.

Prior to your research visit, please familiarize yourself with the following User Guidelines:

• User Guidelines

Planning to Park?

Please check Baylor University's Visitor Parking Requirements prior to your departure.

From Interstate 35 in Waco, take the University Parks exit (exit 335B). To park in the parking garage, turn right on Dutton Avenue or at the next stoplight and park in a space marked for visitor parking on the first floor. More visitor parking is available at the Wiethorn Visitors Center, the next right after the parking garage. Notice: 3rd Street is one-way from Baylor Avenue to Dutton, and is closed in front of the Moody Library.

Planning to Drop Off?

From Interstate 35 in Waco, take the University Parks Drive exit (exit 335B). Turn right at the Baylor University Sign across from the Mayborn Museum (Baylor Ave.). Follow the drive around the Jones Library (a one-way campus street). Just past the building, take a left into the loading dock road and stop at the library door on the left. The Reading Room is to the left on the first floor.

General Directions to Baylor University

The Reading Room is open to undergraduate and graduate students as a quiet study area.  Food and drink are permitted except for those using collections materials. Archival research is open to anyone by appointment from 8:30-4:30. Researchers using collections have preferential seating.

Archival Researchers
Please be sure you contact us at least a day before you arrive, so we can be prepared to better assist you. You will need to complete a registration form with the Reading Room monitor and present some form of photo identification (student ID, driver's license, or passport). Backpacks, book bags, briefcases, coats, purses, computer cases, notebooks, and umbrellas need to be secured in the locker indicated by the monitor. A note pad, pencil, and a laptop are permitted, as are cameras. Cell phones must be set on silent. Please step out of the Reading Room to make or answer a call.

Check In with the Reading Room Monitor
The Reading Room is supervised by a monitor. All materials must be used in the supervised Reading Room. The monitor is present to assist you and to safeguard archival materials. The monitor will check with you periodically to ensure you have the materials you need for a successful and productive visit. At the end of your visit, the monitor will look over your materials and the archival materials to make certain all items have been returned to their original folders and boxes.

Where to sit in the Reading Room
Please sit facing the room monitor when you use materials. The monitor can observe who is using archival materials, who is using library materials, and who is studying. The monitor is there to help you if you have questions, feel free to ask the monitor when you need assistance.

Careful Handling of Archival Materials
Library and archival materials are fragile and require special care and handling. Please follow these guidelines for safeguarding our treasures:

• Ensure your hands are clean;
• Do not mark on materials or erase any marks;
• Take notes with a pencil and pad or a computer;
• Request gloves when handling photographs;
• Post-it-notes, paperclips, pencils or pens should not be used to hold a place - ask for place tags;
• Do not set anything on materials or take notes on top of materials; and
• Keep all materials in the same folder and in the same order in which you found them.

Be careful when handling archival materials. If you find papers and other items in poor condition, please let the monitor know. Finally, a researcher may have only one archival box on the table at a time; please remove one folder at a time from a box. When finished with those boxes request a new set.

Taking a Break
If you need to leave the library for any length of time, give the materials to the monitor and let the monitor know you will be returning. If you do not intend to return that day but will be coming back within the next few days, let the monitor know so the materials are not filed back on the shelves.

Copies, Copyright, and Restrictions
Some archival materials may be restricted. These restrictions apply when a donor requests some items be closed for a certain period of time, or for other reasons such as privacy or fragility of materials. If there are restrictions of materials for any reason, BCPM will honor those restrictions. If BCPM does not own the copyright to the materials, you will have to request permission from the owner of the materials to use them in any published form. BCPM is not responsible for any libel laws, copyright infringement or any other laws that apply to the materials you use.

Citing Archival Materials
Name of papers or collection, Accession #, Box #, Folder #, Baylor Collections of Political Materials, W. R. Poage Legislative Library, Baylor University.

Click here to access the Baylor Archival Repositories Database (BARD) for quick access to finding aids from our collection.

Overview:
Poage Library seeks to assist researchers through the John and JD Dowdy Memorial Congressional Research Endowed Fund which provides financial support for on-campus work in the library's congressional collections. The Dowdy Research Grant provides awards up to $500.00. Applications are accepted throughout the year.

Guidelines:

1. The grant is open to both academic and non-academic applicants.
2. Research projects must include use of at least one of the library's congressional collections.
3. Applicants will be required to submit a description of the research project (a 250-word limit) and a proposed budget.
4. Each proposal should be aimed at a discrete end product. Monographs and journal articles will receive primary consideration. Theses and dissertations will constitute a second priority group. Exhibits and other artistic works are also open for consideration.
5. Budgets will be examined and approved in whole or in part. Research grants will be limited in amounts ranging up to $500.00. Funds are ordinarily provided to defray travel expenses. Other expenses incident to the use of the archives, however, may be considered. Funds may not be used for employment of local researchers for preliminary or post-visit work.
6. Each successful applicant is required to include appropriate acknowledgement in any work produced with the assistance of this support. A copy of each resulting published work must be forwarded to the Poage Library in a timely fashion.
7. Applicants are limited to one funded proposal every three years.
8. Successful applicants must complete a W-9 in order to receive the grant.

Application Process:

Please download the Dowdy Research Grant Application and submit it to:

W. R. Poage Legislative Library
Dowdy Research Grant
One Bear Place #97153
Waco, Texas 76798-7153
poage_library@baylor.edu

Applications are accepted throughout the year. Awardees will be notified within 2 weeks of submitting an application.

For more information, please contact Poage Library at 254-710-3540.

During Summer 2025 the Baylor Collections of Political Materials at W. R. Poage Library (BCPM) is offering a teaching fellowship to encourage the use of our collections in Baylor graduate and undergraduate curricula.

Fellowships are available for

• full-time Baylor faculty members (including tenured and tenure-track faculty, regular lecturers, and senior lecturers)
• graduate teaching assistants (teachers of record)

Fellowship recipients will receive a stipend of $1,250 (pre-tax)*. Past recipients of teaching fellowships who wish to explore additional possibilities are eligible to reapply. Preference, however, may be given to first-time applicants. Additionally, through a partnership with Baylor’s Learning Design team, applicants may submit a proposal for incorporating special collections into an online course.

Recipients of the teaching fellowships are expected to spend at least one week (20 hours minimum) at the BCPM where they will be paired with a librarian who can provide guidance on the library’s facilities, collections, and services. The specific week chosen should be convenient to both the teaching fellow and his or her partner librarian and should occur between May 19 and August 15.

Teaching fellows will be required to submit a 1-2-page document containing a description of how they intend to incorporate collection materials into a course. This document is due no later than two weeks after the fellow’s time in residence. Teaching fellows will also be expected to share their experiences with other faculty and graduate students by presenting on how they used collection materials in their classes in one of the Academy for Teaching and Learning’s Seminars for Excellence in Teaching (SET) or in another appropriate venue.  

To apply, candidates should send a curriculum vitae and a brief statement (not to exceed two pages) describing the course for which they intend to use the library’s collections and the learning objectives they hope to achieve. Applicants should also indicate when they will be available to complete the fellowship at the library. The application materials should be sent by email to Jeff_Pirtle@baylor.edu, Director of the BCPM, by Monday, February 3, 2025. Recipients will be notified by Friday, February 7, 2025.

Applications will be evaluated based on their potential to enhance teaching and learning and will be reviewed by a committee. Recommendations will be sent to the Dean of University Libraries who will make the final decision. 

For additional information about the Teaching Fellows program, contact Jennifer_Borderud@baylor.edu.

*This stipend is considered summer pay which cannot exceed 25% of a faculty member’s salary.