Directory of Special Collections Resources

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Special Collections libraries collect, preserve, archive, and provide guarded access to rare, valuable, and unique materials. These materials can range widely and can include first or unusual editions of monographs; manuscripts; incunabulae (books printed in the 15th century); photographs; maps; realia (objects rather than printed or photographic material); materials focusing on a particular subject or historical era; or archival documents for an institution, organization, or individual. This category is for the web sites of Special Collections libraries.

Resources in This Category

• An Gorta Mor: The Great Hunger Archive

  http://www.thegreathunger.org/
  Collection of books and art about the Irish famine, including digitized handwritten pages from the Board of Guardians meetings in Killarney.

• ASU Special Collections

  http://www.asu.edu/lib/speccoll/
  Collection of rare books, manuscripts, and numerous special-interest collections centered around particular persons or topics of interest to scholars. Located at Arizona State University.

• Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

  http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/
  Features one of the few original, remaining Gutenberg Bibles, a sunken sculpture garden and translucent marble "windows." Located on the campus of Yale University.

• Bibliotheca Alexandrina

  http://www.bibalex.org/
  Includes materials in a variety of languages plus a special collection of United Nations resources.

• Bucknell University - Sheary Project

  http://www.isr.bucknell.edu/Collections_and_Borrowing/Special_Collections_University_Archives/Union_County_History/
  Selected histories, genealogical data, newspapers, and civil war manuscripts from central Pennsylvania at the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library.

• Children's Literature Research Collections

  http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/
  Contains children's literature collections available for research use at the University of Minnesota Elmer L. Anderson Library, including Kerlan, Hess, Treasure Island, Oz, and Paul Bunyan.

• Civil War Newspapers

  http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/the-civil-war.htm
  Contains readable, searchable Harper's Weekly Civil War newspapers from 1861-1865.

• David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

  http://www.davidrumsey.com/
  Collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South American maps and other historic materials.

• Eli Siegel Collection

  http://www.elisiegelcollection.net/
  Collection includes books on literature, philosophy, history, art, economics, and science, many of which contain handwritten annotations by Mr. Siegel (1902-1978). The Collection is open by appointment to persons seriously studying Aesthetic Realism.

• Filipinas Heritage Library

  http://filipinaslibrary.org.ph/
  Electronic research center on the Philippines.

• Hannah Arendt Collection

  http://www.bard.edu/arendtcollection/
  The Hannah Arendt Collection, which resides at Bard College's Stevenson Library, consists of Arendt's personal library.

• Josep Bosch Historical Newspapers Collection

  http://www.josepbosch.net/
  A project to recover, restore, preserve and exhibit historical newspapers from all over the world. The emphasis is to collect newspapers published in the city or country where the event took place.

• Kent State University Special Collections

  http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/
  Contains works of literature, performing arts, and histories of crime, labor, and printing dating back to the 1800's.

• L. Tom Perry Special Collections

  http://sc.lib.byu.edu/
  Collection specializes in the Renaissance and Reformation time periods.

• Literature for Children

  http://susdl.fcla.edu/juv/
  A collection of digitized children's literature titles from the 17th through 20th centuries.

• Margaret Herrick Library

  http://www.oscars.org/library/
  Offers research and reference collections about the motion picture industry.

• Mayview Manor, Blowing Rock NC

  http://rebcole.tripod.com/mayviewmanorblowingrocknc/
  Brief history and an assortment of photos taken of the famous Mayview Manor, Blowing Rock, NC in the 1930s.

• Misericords of the World

  http://www.misericords.co.uk/
  Photographs of misericords found in British and European churches, Cathedrals, Hospitals and Courts.

• Monash University Rare Books Collection

  http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/rare/
  Rare editions of literary and artistic works dating from 1476 to present.

• Munchausen - Library

  http://www.munchausen.org/en/index_en.htm
  Private library for research concerning the phenomenon of Munchausen.

• National Air Photo Library

  http://airphotos.nrcan.gc.ca/
  [English, French] Collection containing millions of aerial photographs of Canada from the 1920s to present.

• National First Ladies Library

  http://www.firstladies.org/
  Located in the home of Ida McKinley in Canton, Ohio, this library includes biographies, photos, oral histories, and other materials about U.S. First Ladies.

• Pitcairn Islands Study Center

  http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/
  A museum-research facility at Pacific Union College containing materials on Pitcairn and the Mutiny on the Bounty.

• Research World History

  http://www.researchhistory.org/
  Research articles and historic photographs.

• Sacred-Magick: The Esoteric Library

  http://www.sacred-magick.com/
  Collection of esoteric, occult, and magick writings. Monthly membership fees required.

• The British Cartoon Archive

  http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/
  Catalogue database of over 85,000 cartoons covering British social and political history. Based at the University of Kent.

• The Islamic Foundation Library

  http://www.iflibrary.org.uk/
  Collection of Islamic Literature in Leicestershire England. Search the catalogue in various languages.

• The Jacob M. Lowy Collection

  http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/6/6/
  [English, French] Hebraica and Judaica, Rare Bibles, and Hebrew Incunables spanning several centuries.

• The Morrison Collection

  http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Morrison/
  A collection held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) containing Chinese books, manuscripts, and operas collected by Dr. Robert Morrison between 1807 and 1824.

• The Rothschild Archive

  http://www.rothschildarchive.org/
  Located in London, England, the archive was established to preserve the record of a family that was widely recognized for contributions to the economic, political, and social history of many countries throughout the world.

• The Yale Map Collection

  http://web.library.yale.edu/maps
  Houses rare sheet maps (pre-1850) and other map and reference collections.

• UBC Library - Special Collections and University Archives

  http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/
  Collection houses rare research materials, children's literature, historic maps and photographs, a special section on the history of Chinese immigrants to Canada.

• UC Riverside Libraries Special Collections

  http://library.ucr.edu/?view=collections/spcol
  Including media in a wide range of subject areas, including science fiction and fantasy, Native American history, citrus history and California history.

• University of Alberta Bruce Peel Special Collections Library

  http://www.library.ualberta.ca/specialcollections/index.cfm
  Collection includes many rare and fragile works including pre-18th John Bunyan, 18th century English poetry and plays, and Victorian and Edwardian Children's Fiction. Access restrictions apply.

• University of Arizona Library Special Collections

  http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
  Includes four core collections: the History of Science Collection, The Fine and Theater Arts Collection, the British and American Authors Collection, and The Art of the Book. Located at the University of Arizona Library in Phoenix, Arizona.

• University of Florida - Department of Special and Area Studies Collections

  http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/default.htm
  Contains sections on children's literature, performing arts, Florida history, rare books, and university archives.

• University of Limerick Special Collection Library

  http://www2.ul.ie/web/WWW/Services/Library/Special_Collections
  Contains 20,000 items including maps, postcards, prints and engravings.

• University of Michigan Special Collections Library

  http://www.lib.umich.edu/spec-coll/
  A variety of collections including an assortment of ancient papyri dating to 300 BC. Papyri topics include Biblical fragments, religious writings, public and private documents, private letters, astronomical, astrological, mathematical, and magical texts.

• University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives

  http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/
  Houses rare books and manuscripts including the papers of Sen. Wayne Morse, children's literature, documentation of women in society, missionaries, feminist and lesbian periodicals, Oregon trail diaries, and architectural materials.

• University of Southern California Special Collections

  https://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections
  Collections include Los Angeles regional history, American literature, Lion Feuchtwanger and the German emigre experience, natural history, and university history.

• University of Virginia Special Collections Library

  http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/
  Historical collection including a collection of letters, documents, and early printings of the Declaration of Independence.

• Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives

  http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/collections.shtml
  Collection contains manuscripts, photographs, performing arts materials, and rare books in divinity, history of religion and Methodism, history of fine paper and printing, significant Mark Twain editions, a collection of 18th and 19th-century accounts by travelers to Latin America, Mesoamerican codices, and a subject collection in demonology and witchcraft.

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