Welcome to Special Collections!
The Special Collections Library is located on the second floor of the Central Library building, across the hall from the Divinity Library. We are open for research Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Check our calendar for special events which may limit our hours for that day.
Special Collections serves as the primary library on campus for rare books and manuscripts. We have over 30 book collections and 900 manuscript collections on a variety of topics. See our Collections Overview page to see highlights from some of our collections.
In order to safeguard collections and preserve them for the use of future scholars, Special Collections libraries have standard access guidelines designed to extend the life of books and manuscripts. Stricter security guidelines are also in place to help protect collections. Books must be used to "book cradles," support cushions which alleviate pressure on the spines of books to help the bindings last longer. Manuscript collections are stored in files in boxes, and researchers are requested to use one file at a time to help preserve the order of the collections.
For more information, please see our Access and Use policy and our Reading Room guidelines.
Please note that all researchers in Special Collections must register as a researcher in order to use the collections. Photo ID must also be presented to Special Collections staff before using the Reading Room so be sure to bring your ID when visiting Special Collections.