George and Evelyn Norby Collection

412 linear feet (31 record boxes, 175 newspaper boxes, 8 oversize boxes) photographs

The Norby Collection documents the history, development, and daily life of Brookings, South Dakota, and Brookings County, with limited coverage of South Dakota more broadly, from the late nineteenth century through the early twenty first century. Assembled by George and Evelyn Norby, the collection is organized into multiple series reflecting their sustained efforts to collect, compile, and preserve local historical documentation.

The collection includes extensive runs of the Brookings Register newspaper, providing long term coverage of local news, community events, politics, agriculture, business, and social life. Complementing the newspapers are compiled data files created by the Norbys that aggregate information drawn from newspapers and other local sources. These compiled records document city and county officials, elections, businesses, streets and addresses, homes and housing, churches, public services, cemeteries, schools, South Dakota State University buildings, and other aspects of municipal and community history.

Topical subject files form a substantial portion of the collection and include materials related to Brookings city and county government, organizations, churches, businesses, historic districts, education, South Dakota State University, named individuals, military service, railroads, public safety, cemeteries, and statewide topics. These files consist of clippings, publications, ephemera, maps, directories, reports, and reference materials and reflect both official activity and community life. Researchers are advised to consult both city and county subject groupings, as related material may appear in either.

The collection also includes a large body of directories, primarily telephone directories serving Brookings and surrounding rural areas, along with city directories, farm directories, regional directories, and campus directories for South Dakota State University. These directories document residents, businesses, institutions, and service areas over time. Ephemera within the collection includes business cards, envelopes, signs, calendars, bumper stickers, postcards, ribbons and badges, matchbooks, tokens, framed images, and other transient printed materials associated with local commerce, events, and organizations.

Materials related to the Norbys themselves document the acquisition, housing, processing, and public presentation of the collection, including South Dakota State University Archives records, Images of the Past program materials, and limited personal correspondence, photographs, and household items. Together, the series span approximately 1871 to 2006, with some undated material, and are arranged by series and subject to reflect the structure of the Norbys’ collecting activities.

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In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Materials in this collection may be subject to Title 17, Section 108 of the United States Copyright Act. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright, privacy, trademark, and other applicable rights for their intended use. Obtaining all necessary permissions is the user's responsibility. Written authorization from the copyright and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or any use of protected materials beyond what is permitted under fair use. .sdstate.edu/sdsu-archives-and-special-collections/researcher-registration-form)

The collection is open for research, but please note that the materials in the Archives do not circulate and can only be used In the SDSU Archives and Special Collections Reading Room.

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If you cannot visit the Archives in person, please reach out to us. We will do our best to help you find the information you need.

In most cases, the materials in this collection have not been digitized and are not available online.

South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections supports access to the materials in its collections. However, access to some items may be restricted due to their fragile condition, donor agreements, or other considerations.

If you would like to know more about the contents of the collection, please contact the SDSU Archives at: Telephone: 605-688-5094 Email: arcrefs@sdstate.edu

Reproduction of materials from the collection is subject to the following conditions:

• Permission: Written permission must be obtained from the SDSU Archives for any reproduction, publication, or quotation of materials.
• Copyright: Users are responsible for complying with copyright laws and securing any necessary permissions from copyright holders.
• Fragile Materials: Some items may not be reproduced due to their fragile condition.
• Charges: Reproduction charges may apply, and users will be informed of any costs in advance.

• Acknowledgment: Any reproduced material must include proper acknowledgment of the South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections as the source.

  For more information or to request permission, please contact the SDSU Archives.

Copyright and Use Statement

In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Materials in this collection may be subject to Title 17, Section 108 of the United States Copyright Act. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright, privacy, trademark, and other applicable rights for their intended use. Obtaining all necessary permissions is the user's responsibility. Written authorization from the copyright and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or any use of protected materials beyond what is permitted under fair use.