Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1968-1981 (Creation)
Extent
0.21 linear feet (1 half-document case)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Alfred “Al” George Trump Jr. was born April 23, 1907, in Kahoka, Missouri, to Alfred G. Trump Sr. and Elizabeth Bonnett Trump. At age eleven he moved with his family to Chicago, where he graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1924. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Germanics from the University of Chicago in 1929 and later completed the A.B.M.S. degree in 1933 and the A.M.L.S. degree in 1938 at the University of Michigan. Prior to coming to South Dakota, Trump gained broad professional experience in both public and academic libraries, holding positions at the Chicago Public Library, the University of Chicago Library, the University of Michigan Library, the Michigan State Law Library, and Virginia Junior College in Minnesota. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 as a lieutenant, performing intelligence work in the continental United States and Hawaii.
Trump joined South Dakota State College in 1948 as a librarian and was at that time the sole faculty member assigned to the library. The collection comprised approximately 90,000 volumes housed on the second floor of Lincoln Library, serving a student body of about 900. Appointed director of libraries in 1959, he oversaw a period of substantial expansion that paralleled the institution’s growth and the introduction of doctoral programs beginning in 1954. By his retirement in 1972, the library system held roughly 270,000 volumes and 3,000 journal subscriptions in Lincoln Library, with additional specialized collections located across campus and at nursing facilities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trump attributed the rapid growth of holdings, particularly in scientific journals, to expanding research needs and played a central role in developing one of the strongest research library collections in the state. After retirement, he continued to serve as archivist emeritus and assisted with planning and logistics for the 1977 relocation of collections to the Hilton M. Briggs Library.
Active in professional service, Trump served as president of the South Dakota Library Association (1958–1959), represented the state in the Mountain Plains Library Association, and served on the governing council of the American Library Association. In Brookings, he participated in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and university and community organizations for retired faculty and teachers. On August 22, 1935, he married Anne Harris Arnold, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College who earned a master’s degree in history from Case Western Reserve University and worked in academic and state libraries before serving as assistant librarian at the Brookings Public Library from 1960 to 1986. Together they had four children: Michael, Peter, Jeane Gautier, and Andrew. Alfred G. Trump Jr. died November 26, 1994; Anne Arnold Trump died January 11, 2004.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Alfred G. Trump Papers consist of commemorative and recognition items associated with Alfred G. Trump Jr., longtime librarian and library director at South Dakota State University. The contents include a retirement scrapbook from 1972 containing correspondence, newspaper clippings, and 27 color snapshots documenting his retirement and professional relationships. Also included are programs from Trump’s retirement party, certificates of recognition from professional organizations, plaques acknowledging his support of South Dakota State University and participation in the President’s Club during the 1970s, and a certificate documenting his completion of the University of Denver’s Annual Institute of Archival Administration in 1968. The materials further include a 1981 proclamation issued by the Brookings City Commission designating Anne Trump Day, reflecting civic recognition of the Trump family. The records date primarily from 1968 to 1981 and emphasize professional service, institutional affiliation, and public acknowledgment.
These materials documents Alfred G. Trump Jr.’s professional standing within regional and national library organizations, his long service to South Dakota State University, and his engagement in archival education and institutional development. They also reflect the recognition extended by professional associations, the university administration, and the local community, offering insight into the culture of academic librarianship, professional recognition, and civic acknowledgment in the mid to late twentieth century.
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Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
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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)
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Reproduction of materials from the collection is subject to the following conditions:
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Languages of the material
English
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Finding aids
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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.