Contact Special Collections
* Hours M-F 9:00-5:00 *
Contact: 314-935-5495 spec@wumail.wustl.edu
Located: Olin Library, 1st floor
Please call or e-mail before you visit to reserve your space in the research room.
Contact Special Collections Staff:
- Cassie Brand, Curator of Rare Books | (314) 935-4950
- Alison Carrick, Reference and Outreach Supervisor | phone (314) 935-5405
- Skye Lacerte, Curator of the Dowd Modern Graphic History Library | (314) 935-7741
- Joel Minor, Curator of Manuscripts & Modern Literature Collections | (314) 935-5413
- Vernon Mitchell, Curator of Popular American Arts | (314) 935-9779
- Miranda Rectenwald, Curator of Local History | (314) 935-5444
- Sonya Rooney, University Archivist | (314) 935-9730
- Brian Woodman, Curator of Film and Media Archive | (314) 935-3301
Using Special Collections and Archives
- Planning on Conducting Research at Special CollectionsHandout with tips on researching at Washington University Special Collections.
More information on Special Collections access: https://library.wustl.edu/research-support/special-collections-research-access/
Copyright and fair use
- Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the U.S. http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm
- Checklist for Fair Use https://copyright.columbia.edu/basics/fair-use/fair-use-checklist.html
- WATCH (Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders) http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/watch/
- Wash U Copyright webpage https://wustl.edu/about/compliance-policies/intellectual-property-research-policies/copyright-information/
- Catalog of Copyright Entries, published by the US Copyright Office http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/cce/
- Creative Commons - http://creativecommons.org/
- Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research
by Laura Schmidt (2011). From the Society of American Archivists. Also available online
- A Glossary of Archival and Records TerminologyFrom the Society of American Archivists
- Comparison Chart of Archives, Libraries, and MuseumsCredit: The American Association for State and Local History (The Basics of Archives)
- What Are Archives and How Do They Differ from Libraries?From Society of American Archivists
- Top ways archives are different from librariesFrom ArchivesNext
Tools & Tips for Finding Archives, Rare Books, Special Collections
World Guide to LibrariesCall Number: Z721 .I63 4o (Olin Level 1 Reference)ISBN: 9783110277968Publication Date: Latest ed.: 2014
Articles Describing Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States by Call Number: CD3022 A2 D478 1997 (Olin level 1 Reference)Publication Date: 1997
British Archives: A guide to archive resources in the United Kingdom by Call Number: CD1040 .F67 2002 (Olin Level 1 Reference)Publication Date: 2002
Archives in Germany : an introductory guide to institutions and sources by Call Number: CD1220 .A78 2001Publication Date: 2001Also available online
American Author Houses, Museums, Memorials and Libraries by Call Number: PS141 .B54 2000ISBN: 0786407778Publication Date: 2000
Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies by Call Number: Z2011 .H34 2008 (Olin level 1 reference; West Campus)ISBN: 9780873528085Publication Date: 2008-01-01Not just about English--Includes foreign language literatures. Also includes sources for rare books, special collections, and archives
A Guide to the OCLC Database and the Special Collections Therein by Call Number: Z688 A2 G95 1984Publication Date: 1984- Guide to Hebrew Manuscript Collections / by Benjamin Richler.Call Number: Z6605.H4 R473 2014ISBN: 965208185XPublication Date: 2014
Subject Collections: A Guide to Special Book Collections and Subject Emphases As Reported by University, College, Public, and Special Libraries and Museums in the United by Call Number: Z731 A78 1961ISBN: 9780835231411Publication Date: 1993-01-01
Additional directories and sources in WU Catalog
Browse by [term] -- [country] -- Directories
Search topic as a subject with keywords: archives, catalogs, sources, or manuscripts.
- Consult with faculty advisors, subject librarians, and curators/archivists who often will have personal contacts or sources
- Look at bibliography/references in monographs on your subject.Often archival sources will be listed separately.
- Look at scholarly organizations (e.g. American Historical Association) or literary socieities (e.g. Int'l Brecht Society)
- Search in subject databases (e.g. MLA Int'l Bibliography)
- Archives and Special Collections are often indexed in Google.
- May need to search using foreign terms (e.g. Nachlass [German equivalent "unpublished papers"], archivo [Spanish term for "archives"])
- Dictionary of archival terminology (terms in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, & Spanish). Call number: CD945 D53 1988 (Olin level 3)
- Multilingual Archival Terminology (online)
Washington University Special Collections
Special Collections includes a variety of collecting areas. Click on the links below to access webpages for each area.
- Archive CollectionsUniversity Archives chronicles the history of Washington University from 1853 to today, with more than 300 unique collections including campus publications, reports, photographic prints and negatives, books, film, sound recordings, oral histories, architectural plans, and artifacts.
Archive collections documenting Local History topics include records of noted St. Louis area civic organizations, political figures, architects, social activists, and community groups.
Popular American Arts collections focus on topics such as jazz music, dramatic performance, entertainment, and other expressions of popular culture. - Douglas B. Dowd Modern Graphic History LibraryThe Douglas B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Library is comprised of original art and printed material from many fields of popular American pictorial graphic culture. Focusing on 20th century illustration, the collection includes artists' working materials and sketches as well as original artwork from books, magazines, and advertising.
- Film and Media ArchiveThe Film & Media Archive is a nationally recognized center for scholarship, teaching, and learning. The Archive is committed to the preservation of documentary film and other media which chronicles America's great political and social movements with a particular emphasis on the African-American experience.
- Manuscript CollectionsWashington University's collections of manuscripts contain a broad range of materials, from ancient-Egyptian papyri to present-day email. The largest group of materials is the Modern Literature Collection, an archive and library of 20th and 21st century Anglo-American literary writers.
- Rare Book CollectionsThe rare book collections include over 60,000 printed pieces and represent all the disciplines the University Libraries collect. The collections’ primary strengths are in the areas of literature; the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts; and aspects of American and world history.
Manuscripts material highlighted in classroom
- “The DNA Molecule” (May Swenson Papers)Swenson wrote many “concrete poems”—visually striking poems incorporating various shapes. This poem’s shape was modeled on the DNA helix. The folder includes seven typescript drafts with holograph notes and research on the structure and colors of the DNA helix.
- "Texts for Nothing" (Samuel Beckett Papers)Notebook and typescript drafts of thirteen untitled short prose pieces written in 1950-1952 but not published until 1967, representing Beckett's (and literature's) move from modernism to post-modernism.
- Waiting for Godot prompt books (Rick Cluchey Collection)Waiting for Godot prompt book used for the landmark 1975 Berlin production at the Schiller-Theater that Beckett himself directed; Waiting for Godot prompt book from 1984 rehearsals overseen by Beckett, directly reflecting the significant, Beckett-generated emendations the author made to the 1975 version
- T. S. Eliot letters (T. S. Eliot Collection)Five personal letters from Eliot to his friends Collin and Lillian Brooks.
Rare Books material highlighted in classroom
- Ben Jonson's First FolioJonson, Ben. The Workes of Beniamin Jonson neque me vt miretur turba, laboro : contentus paucis lectoribus. London printed by W: Stansby and are to be sould by Rich: Meighen. An̊ D. 1616.
- Paradise Lost First EditionMilton, John. Paradise lost : a poem in ten books. London: Printed by S. Simmons, and are to be sold by T. Helder at the Angel in Little Brittain, 1669.
- Shakespeare's Fourth FolioShakespeare, William. Mr. William Shakespear's comedies, histories, and tragedies / published according to the true original copies ; unto which is added seven plays, never before printed in folio: viz. Pericles Prince of Tyre; The London Prodigal; The History of Thomas Lord Cromwel; Sir John Oldcastle Lord Cobham; The Puritan Widow; A Yorkshire Tragedy; The Tragedy of Locrine. London: Printed for H. Herringman, E. Brewster, and R. Bentley, 1685.
- Frankenstein Third EditionShelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, or, The modern Prometheus. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street ; Edinburgh : Bell and Bradfute ; Dublin : Cumming, 1831.
- Uncle Tom's Cabin First EditionStowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's cabin, or, Life among the lowly. Boston: John P. Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Ohio: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1852, c1851.
- Brave New World First EditionHuxley, Aldous. Brave new world. London: Chatto & Windus, 1932.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four First EditionOrwell, George. Nineteen eighty-four, a novel. London, Secker & Warburg, 1949.
- Frankenstein illustrated by Barry MoserShelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, or, The modern Prometheus. Illustrated by Barry Moser. West Hatfield, Mass.: Pennyroyal, 1983, c1984.
Film & Media Archive material highlighted in classroom
- Online resources
- Search Mavis-Web FMA
- Search for films, photographs, interviews, background research
- Example of photos from I’ll Make Me a World documentary: http://mavisweb.wulib.wustl.edu:81/mavisDetail/TitleWork/key/4600
- Search Mavis-Web FMA
- I’ll Make Me a World digitized interviews via Adam Mathew Digital:
- http://www.africanamericancommunities.amdigital.co.uk/
- Photographs from the I’ll Make Me a World documentary series. [Title No. 13535: I’ll Make Me a World [stock photos] includes photos of artists, writers, and filmmakers including Alice Walker, Spike Lee, James Baldwin, Augusta Savage, and more.
University Archives material highlighted in classroom
- Mary Wickes PapersMary Wickes received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1930. She was a character actress who had a long career on stage, in film, and on television in performances. Highlights for class include scripts with her annotations, correspondence, and photos from her return trips to WU.
- Morris Carnovsky PapersMorris Carnovsky, a native St. Louisan, graduated from Washington University in 1920 and later became a well-known actor especially starring in Shakespeare's plays. Highlights for class include a scrapbook of his performance in King Lear at WU and Hatchet yearbooks and his writing in the Eliot literary magazine during his time at WU (1915-1920).
Popular American Arts material highlighted in classroom
- Black Film Promotional Material CollectionThis significant collection of non-film promotional material documents how blacks were portrayed in films from 1915 to 1980. The collection contains around 2,700 promotional items including photographic stills, programs, trade advertisements, advertising materials, advertising supplements, lobby cards, pressbooks, and posters, representing approximately 400 films, ranging in date from 1915 to the 1980s. Highlights for class are fliers and a program from the early films.
Modern Graphic History Library in classroom
- John Ezell CollectionJohn Ezell received a B.F.A. in Painting from Washington University in 1954 and an M.F.A. the Yale School of Drama in 1960. He designed stage sets and had an immeasurable impact on the field of American scenic design. Highlights for class are photos of a few of his 3-D maquettes.