Residence Hall Week was first held March 6 - 9, 1968. The event encourages camaraderie amongst the various residence halls, provides entertainment and activities, and introduces prospective freshman to living on-campus. The collection primarily contains reports on the planning and success of the week submitted by different sub-committees at the conclusion of their service. Additional materials include news clippings, publicity materials, Residence Hall Week Gazette, The Hallmark,and planning files.

Residence Hall Week was founded in 1968 by the Iowa State residence halls and, as of 2014, continues to be held every spring. There were three residence hall associations in 1968 - Men's Residence Association, Women's Residence Association, and Towers Residence Association - that jointly formed Residence Hall Week. The Inter-Residence Halls Association formed in 1982 and continues to organize the event annually.

The founding document ("Budgets" Box 1, folder 1) states its purpose as "to produce greater unity among the residents of the residence halls, to provide cultural, social, intellectual, and recreational activities for hall members and the entire student body, and to introduce residence hall living to prospective freshmen." In its first decade, the week generally included a carnival, a dance, intramural competitions, a Residence Hall Week Queen (and later a King), a service activity, extensive publicity planning, an open house for prospective freshmen, and a concert from a popular act. Early performers included the Righteous Brothers (1968), Bill Cosby (1969), the 5th Dimension (1970), and John Denver (1971).

This collection (1968-1994) documents the founding, planning, and management of Residence Hall Week at Iowa State. The bulk of the collection consists of formal reports submitted by various subcommittees. Additional materials include news clippings, publicity materials, flyers and posters, Residence Hall Week Gazette, The Hallmark,and planning files.

Each report provides advice to the next year's committee members on how to perform the functions of the position. Examples of advice include sketches of the carnival layout, tips on contestants' personal appearance for the Queen contest, sample correspondence and open house guest packets, and suggested fees and schedules for performers.

Related collections in the Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library include:

• RS 22/9/1 Inter-Residence Hall Association (IRHA) Records, 1967-[ongoing]
• RS 22/9/3 Towers Residence Association Papers, 1967-2001
• RS 22/9/6 Men's Residence Hall Association Records, 1947-1968

The original file structure of this collection has been maintained, but the folders have been sorted alphabetically for ease of use.