Funeral of Kenneth McKenzie on August 23, 1911 at the First Baptist Church, corner of East 5th and Beech. This photograph was sent to his parents in Scotland to prove that he received a Christian burial. Required Credit: Frances Seely Webb Collection, Casper College Western History Center. Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code).

The preservation of our cultural heritage is recognized as being important to our College and our community. The Casper College Western History Center addresses this need by developing and maintaining a collection of non-circulating materials on Wyoming and the West with particular emphasis on Casper and Natrona County. This collection of printed and primary sources is intended to support the instructional, institutional and individual needs of students, faculty, staff and the community. The collection is open to the public and is utilized by researchers world-wide.

Although all of the items in the collection are not rare and many are not even old, the college has accepted the responsibility of preserving these materials and providing access to them. Much of the material would be difficult to replace and some will become rare with the passage of time. Gathering and processing the materials is also very labor-intensive. For these reasons, providing access and preserving the materials can often seem to be contradictory aims. The twin needs of preservation and access are expressed in the motto of the Casper College Western History Center:

The best way to preserve our heritage is to share it.
The best way to share our heritage is to preserve it.

In attempting to meet both of these contradictory needs, it is necessary to compromise by requiring that all materials be used only in the Center. None of the materials can be checked out and none are available through Interlibrary Loan.