Library Overview

Rauner Special Collections Library is the primary repository for Dartmouth College's rare book, manuscript, and archival holdings. The collections reflect the long and rich history of the College and feature collections related to eminent alumni, faculty, and others associated with the College. Special Collections holds extensive manuscript and published material related to Robert Frost and Daniel Webster, the Stefansson Collection on Polar Exploration, and the recently acquired papers of Budd Schulberg and the Pilobolus Dance Theatre. The papers of Maxfield Parrish and Augustus Saint-Gaudens are part of a series of related collections documenting the history of New Hampshire's Cornish Colony. There are dozens of named book collections including the Allerton Hickmott Shakespeare Collection, an extensive New Hampshire Imprints collection, the Edward P. Sine Collection of British Illustrated Books, and a deep "Presses" collection that chronicles the history of printing from the fifteenth century to the present. Students make regular use of the pre-1600 manuscripts for course work, a collection that includes a small but very rich trove of books of hours, a fifteenth-century prose Brut Chronicle, and a strong collection of early musical manuscripts.

A hallmark of Special Collections at Dartmouth has been its longstanding commitment to creating an atmosphere conducive to student use of the collections. Welcoming staff, an open reading room, and access tools invite students to explore what makes Special Collections so "special." Rauner Library has recently expanded its role in curricular support and is now a major component of courses taught throughout the College.

Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College Library
Rauner Special Collections Library
6065 Webster Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~speccoll/
Rauner.Special.Collections.Reference@Dartmouth.edu
(603) 646-0538 (t)
(603) 646-0447 (f)