Materials are available for research in a

supervised reading room open to the public

Monday through Friday (see www.lib.fsu.

edu/about/hours for details). Special

Collections staff provide in depth assistance

to users on site; limited service is available

by mail, email or telephone. For more

information about the department and its

services, visit our website at:

http://www.fsu.edu/~speccoll

or contact us at (850) 644-3271 or

spc@reserves.lib.fsu.edu

FSU Libraries - Special Collections, 2009 ©DESIGN: Department of Communications, Marketing and Publications

The Special Collection Reading Room

Alternative formats available upon request

U s e of the

C o l l e c t i o n

The University Libraries

Special Collections, housed in

Strozier Library, preserves and

provides access to primary source and

other research materials to FSU faculty,

students, and staff, and to the local and

scholarly communities. Currently there

are more than a half a million items and

3500 linear feet of manuscripts in its

collections. Books and other materials

are cataloged in the Libraries’ online

catalog that can be searched at:

www.lib.fsu.edu

A b o U TS p e c i a l C o l l e c t i o n s

Shaw CollectionCovers: The Brown Fairy Book, 1903 and The Blue Fairy Book, 1949, both by Andrew Lang.

This research collection includes books and non-print items that are rare, valuable, or culturally important. In addition to small and private press books, there are limited edition books, early printed books (incunabula), handwritten books, first editions, journals, newspapers, maps, books of color plates, and examples of cuneiforms, papyrus, and ostraka. Among the named collections are the following:

Rare books

• Napoleon and the

French Revolution

• John M. Shaw

Childhood in

Poetry Collection

• Kelmscott Press

Collection

• McGregor Discovery and

Exploration of the Americas

Collection

• Carothers Memorial Rare Bibles

Collection

• Richardson Herbals Collection

• Lois Lenski Collection

In addition to general and university related manuscripts, there are four other major categories: Florida political collections; Southern business history; literary manuscripts; and local and regional history. Examples of noteworthy collections include the following:

• Paul A.M. Dirac Collection

• Tallahassee Civil Rights Oral History Collection

• West Yellow Pine Lumber Company Records, 1855-1916

• Tallahassee Literary Club Papers

• Blue Ridge Institute for Southern Community Service Executives Records

• Warren Fish Company Records, 1869-1947

• Malcolm Johnson Collection

• Spessard Holland Papers

• Allen Morris Papers

ManuscriptCollection

Herbal Collection:

Peony, Elizabeth Blackwell,

A Curious Herbal, 1737

Manuscript Collection:

A leaf from an illuminated Book

of Hours, circa 1465

An important task of Special Collections

is to document and preserve the history

of the university through its paper and

photographic archives.

The archives contain print publications,

records, memorabilia, and other items

chronicling the university’s growth.

The papers of selected faculty and

administrators, ephemera, catalogs,

yearbooks, scrapbooks, school newspaper,

and books published about the university

are also part of the collection.

The photographic archives provide a

visual history of the university and include

images of the campus, students, faculty,

clubs, activities, and sports.

University Papers and

Photo Archives

Basketball Team, Florida State College for Women, 1905