At a conference held at Princeton University this past weekend, University president Christopher L. Eisgruber announced that the papers of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, who taught at Princeton for 17 years, are now in the permanent library collection of the school.

Mr. Eisgruber made the announcement in Richardson Auditorium to those attending the conference, “Coming Back: Reconnection Princeton’s Black Alumni,” following a tribute to Ms. Morrison’s legacy at the University by trustee Ruth Simmons and before an onstage interview with Ms. Morrison by Claudia Brodsky, professor of comparative literature.

“Toni Morrison’s place among the giants of American literature is firmly entrenched, and I am overjoyed that we are adding her papers to the Princeton University Library’s collections,” Mr. Eisgruber said. “This extraordinary resource will provide scholars and students with unprecedented insights into Professor Morrison’s remarkable life and her magnificent, influential literary works. We at Princeton are fortunate that Professor Morrison brought her brilliant talents as a writer and teacher to our campus 25 years ago, and we are deeply honored to house her papers and to help preserve her inspiring legacy.”

Ms. Morrison was awarded an honorary doctorate from Princeton in 2013. She came to the University in 1989 and was a member of the creative writing program until retiring in 2006. In 1994, she founded the Princeton Atelier, bringing together undergraduates in interdisciplinary collaborations with acclaimed artists and performers.

Ms. Morrison’s papers include about 180 linear feet of research materials documenting the author’s life, work, and writing methods, according to Don Skemer, curator of manuscripts in the University Library’s Department of rare Books and Special Collections.

The papers have been gathered from many locations over time, beginning with manuscripts and other original materials that the library’s preservation office recovered and conserved after a fire in 1993 at Morrison’s home in Grandview, New York. Manuscripts, drafts and proofs for her most famous novels as well as materials for children’s literature, lyrics, lectures, non-fiction writing, and more are included.

Over the next year, archivists will focus on the arrangement, description, cataloging, preservation, and selective digitization of the papers to make them available for research. An exhibit of some of Ms. Morrison’s papers are on display through November 24 in the Main Gallery of Firestone Library.