Library Overview
Special Collections had its origin in 1958 when a small collection of rare books was acquired and stored in a locked cabinet under the circulation desk in the University Library. Established as a separate department in 1968 with 6,000 volumes and fewer than 400 manuscripts, the collection currently houses almost 200,000 volumes, 150,000 manuscripts, 25,000 photographs, including unique photographs from the Mexican Revolution, and varied archival holdings. The collection comprises eight general subject areas: African-American history and culture, including the Western Region Tuskegee Airmen Archive; agricultural, botanical, and natural sciences, including early records from the citrus industry in Southern California and the original Citrus Experiment Station; California history, including the University Archives; history of the arts, including the papers of music theorist Heinrich Schenker, and the archive of playwright, poet, and art critic Sadakichi Hartmann; Latin-American history and culture, including the Chilcote Archives on Brazil, the Panama Collection, Paraguayan political archives, and the archives of author and poet Tomás Rivera; literary and cultural studies, including the B. Traven Collection, boys' series books from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Victorian and Edwardian novels, and the Eaton Collection; Native American studies, including the Rupert J. Costo Library of the American Indian; and Western European civilization, including medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, early printed books, the Henry Snyder Collection of 18th-century imprints, the Vernon Duke Paris Collection, and an extensive collection on printing, book history and book arts, including the Dr. Edward C. Petko Collection of antique printing presses used by students taking classes in hand printing and bookmaking.
University of California, Riverside Libraries
Special Collections
PO Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
http://library.ucr.edu/?view=collections/spcol/
(951) 827-3233 (t)
(951) 827-4673 (f)
