Library Overview

The Johns Hopkins University Libraries comprise numerous libraries and resource centers. Special Collections is an integral part of the Sheridan Libraries, the main research library of the Johns Hopkins University. Composed of three separate libraries, the Eisenhower Collection, the George Peabody Library, and the John Work Garrett Library, Special Collections is home to the rare book collection, historical manuscripts and sheet music, and the University Archives. Building on the foundation of early faculty interests, the Eisenhower Collection is strong in economic history and thought, German and French drama, English literature, especially Tudor and Stuart and the romantic poets, and abolitionist literature. The Peabody Library mirrors the interests and scholarship of the late-nineteenth century with strengths in archaeology, British art and architecture, British and American history, biography, English and American literature, Romance languages and literature, history of science, geography, and exploration and travel, including a large map collection. The John Work Garrett Library collection reflects the tastes of several generations of the Garrett family. The collection was started by T. Harrison Garrett, a great collector of prints, engravings, and books, as well as objets d'art, and by his son, John Work Garrett. This library has strong collections in natural history including many of the most important and beautiful ornithological works ever produced, illustrated books, Americana, early printed books, and the Fowler Collection of Architectural History. The historical manuscript collections and the University Archives document the history of higher education in America especially as it pertains to the development of graduate education at Hopkins. Supporting the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music are thirty-seven additional collections of ballads, waltzes, polkas, grand marches, hymns, operettas, and show tunes that have been part of America's musical heritage for two hundred years.

Johns Hopkins University
Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
http://www.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/
(410) 516-8348 (t)
(410) 516-7202 (f)