Special Collections Library

The Penn State University Special Collections Library contains more than 150,000 books and 5,000 non-book collections (archival and manuscript materials.)

How do I search for Special Collections books?

• Use the Libraries’ CAT (online catalog)

How do I search for non-book archives and manuscript collections?

• Start at the Libraries CAT (online catalog)- about half of the collections are in the CAT.

• Browse or search all collections by title- all highlighted titles in these lists link directly to the finding aid/inventory for that collection.

   A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

  Search collection titles 

• Search full text of finding aids/inventories- about one quarter of collections have finding aids.
  

  Search collection finding aids


• Special Collections staff are available to help researchers locate archival and manuscript materials. Contact us for an appointment or more information.

FAQ (links to following items on this page)

• What are Collections?
• What are Finding Aids?
• How can I search for Collections at other Repositories?

 

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What are Collections?

Archivists treat non-book materials as a collection based on who or what entity created or collected the materials. Collections might consist of the records of an organization, the collected papers of an individual, correspondence between family members, or a collector's systematic accumulation of documents on a specific topic. Single, non-book items, such as unpublished diaries, scrapbooks, maps, or even a single letter, are treated as a “collection” and a finding aid is created to explain its contents. Collections also include audiovisual, cartographic, digital, artifacts, and a wide variety of non-print formats. 

What are Finding Aids?

Finding aids are guides to the wide variety of non-book collections. The title of the collection consists of the creator's name and the type of materials making up the collection, such as: Carl Sagan Correspondence or Phi Beta Kappa Records. Consequently, titles rarely reflect the subject matter contained in the collection—that information is found in the collection’s finding aid. The finding aid describes the person or organization that created the records (biography or history), the subjects documented within the collection (summary or scope and content note), its organization (arrangement), and a listing of all folders held in the collection. The date span indicates the earliest and latest items in the collection. The quantity listed in the finding aid expresses the size of the boxed materials in cubic feet plus any enumerated unboxed items.

How can I find Collections at other Repositories?

• Tips for finding archival and manuscript sources.
• Special Collections staff are available to help researchers locate archival and manuscript materials. Contact us for an appointment or more information.

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