Special Collections Research Center

Rare Books at the Special Collections Research Center

The Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University, formerly known as the George Arents Research Library, began as a part of the university’s fledging library after founding of the school in 1870. A generous donation made possible the first major acquisition of the special collections in 1883 with the purchase of the library of Leopold von Ranke, the founder of modern historical research technique. Since that time the SCRC has continued to expand its horizons and broaden its collections to represent a plethora of topics and research interests. The manuscript and rare book collections of SCRC complement each other in many areas and a number of special collections include both printed and manuscript works. Therefore, it is essential to investigate both areas in order to glean all available information on a subject.

The collection now includes a wide array of historic and literary classics indispensable to the university’s varied curriculum, as well as many distinguished special collections unique to Syracuse University. These special collections make the SCRC an indispensable resource for researchers interested in a variety of topics such as the creative expression of Radicalism across a variety of topics, Beat literature and post-Beat influence on modern literature, 19th and 20th century authors, New York State history and religious communities, and many others. For a complete listing and more detailed information on the SCRC’s rare book holdings and subject strengths, please feel free to browse the headings to the right of this page. These headings do not cover every item in the collections as many represent other topics, but comprise the areas of the greatest concentration in our holdings.

Locating and Accessing Rare Books at the SCRC

The SCRC makes every attempt to render its holdings clearly available to searching access for researchers both local and remote through the SUMMIT catalog. However, migrating records from cards to electronic record format is a costly and time consuming process. At present, virtually all works catalogued after 1991 as well a fair quantity of migrated records added prior to 1991— amounting to approximately sixty percent of the entire holdings—are available for search via the SUMMIT catalog. To access the remainder of the rare book collections, researchers are welcome to come to the SCRC reading room and search the physical card catalog. Remote researchers may phone in or email requested searches of these materials to the reference department.

The Special Collections Research Center holds over 100,000 printed works including books, pamphlets, and ephemera. While every effort is made to make the materials as accessible as possible to the public, in order to protect and preserve these valuable resources, the SCRC prohibits the interlibrary loan of its works to other institutions. Most materials are available upon request for in-person access through the SCRC reading room subject to proper handling conditions. For policies relating to the handling and access of SCRC materials including links to information on publication and photocopy requests, please see SCRC’s Visit Policies. While the loan of materials for personal research is prohibited, the loan of materials for exhibition may be considered under the policies and guidelines found here.

Printer Friendly