Finding Special Collections

With the announcement that the Library will be participating in the Google Book Project, a whole new world of scholarship is brought to your desktop. Illinois Harvest broadens our digital collections with digitized and born-digital materials about Illinois as well as materials created by Illinois scholars. Or maybe you would like to persue the Illinois Air Photo Imagebase of aerial photographs of Illinois taken between 1935-1955.  The Slavic and East European Library brings several digital initiatives to the community.  Are you a faculty or student interested in the preservation of your scholarship? Take a look at Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS). Take a look at a comprehensive listing of the Library's digital projects.

LEARN Two: Special Collections

The Rare Book and Manuscript Library's collection is stunning with emphasis in such rare books as Shakespeare, Milton, the Spanish Golden Age and Incunabula. There are over 100 special manuscript collections including Gustav Groeber, Marcel Proust, Carl Sandburg, and Herbert G. Wells among many others. The University of Illinois Archives brings you the Student Life and Culture Archival Program which collects, preserves, and makes available materials documenting student involvement in fraternities, sororities, student government, religious associations, publications, social events, athletics, and other activities that contribute to the total student experience in higher education.  The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music acquires and preserves significant archival records and historical artifacts in multiple media formats that document America's local and national music history and its diverse cultures. These are just a select few examples of the myriad special collections at the University of Illinois Library. For more information, please contact your subject specialist librarian.

Image at the top of the page: James Audubon published the original edition of Birds of America between 1840-1844. The original is held in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and is quite valuable. In the display case is a 1985 facsimile copy by Abbeville Press. The print in the display case is changed weekly. It is located in the foyer outside the Reference Library on the second floor.