Preston Library and VMI Archives

Preston Library’s collections include over 300,000 volumes of print materials, over 5000 non-print items, and more than 300 scientific, literary, and general interest print periodicals. Also, the library provides access to more than 100 full-text and citation databases and over 60,000 full-text electronic journals, many purchased through VIVA (the Virtual Library of Virginia). Preston Library is a selective depository of U.S. government publications, with current holdings of about 200,000 federal and state documents. 

Part of the Preston Library, VMI Archives also possesses an important collection of Cold War materials. The “VMI at War” and oral history projects (see below) and associated collections reside in the VMI Archives. Begun by Albert Conner ’66, the collection contains materials from VMI veterans who served during the Cold War as well as in other conflicts.    

The Oral History Project

The Oral History Project, a project of the Adams Center, has bolstered those holdings with almost 200 interviews of Cold War veterans and by soliciting papers and other materials from such individuals. The center also sees a significant advantage in involving VMI cadets as interviewers, in archival research, in conference presentations, and publication. Cadets use oral history techniques as part of their classroom work, for capstone and independent research projects, in prize competitions, and summer internships.  As a longer-term goal, the center hopes to engage a full-time oral historian. Click to visit the Cold War Oral History Project  

The Marshall Library

The mission of the George C. Marshall Research Library is to collect, preserve, and make available to scholars a documented record of the life and public service career of George Catlett Marshall. That mission includes a variety of military and diplomatic history issues between the years 1900 and 1960. The Research Library's central holding is the George C. Marshall Papers. The Marshall Library and Museum is located on the campus of VMI and has partnered with the Adams Center on several research initiatives. Search the Marshall Library collections.

 The Glantz Collection Project

The Adams Center is working with the George C. Marshall Library to acquire, process, and catalog David M. Glantz's '63 collection of Soviet military records. This collection is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Soviet military history outside of the former Soviet Union, and the Adams Center has begun a long-term effort to preserve and make it accessible to scholars and students.   

Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

State Department historians produce the Foreign Relations of the United States series, the official documentary history of American foreign relations. The office will publish 51 volumes of documents on the Reagan presidency. Electronic copies of FRUS volumes are available online.

Presidential Oral History Program, Miller Center, University of Virginia

The Miller Center's Presidential Oral History Program systematically and comprehensively debriefed the principal figures of the Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations. Transcripts of interviews with Richard Allen, Frank Carlucci, James Miller, George Shultz, Caspar Weinberger, and other key figures of the Reagan presidency are available on the Miller Center website.