Special Collections

The general Special Collections of New York University range from cuneiform tablets to modern manuscripts, and cover a wide range of material formats, subjects, cultures and histories. The Special Collections also includes materials from previous departmental libraries and the University Heights campus library. These collections complement the collecting policies in the general stacks by supplying rare or fine editions of texts, original copies of media and manuscript materials, and also through prospectively collecting materials to support future areas of research in the humanities. 

The Special Collections includes a number of discrete sub-collections, some of which also have substantial archival components. Collections that come under the holdings of the special collections include:

• The Marion Nestle Food Studies Collection
• The Alfred C. Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll
• The Avant-Garde Collection
• The Robert Frost Library
• The Adkins Collection of American Literature
• The Kaplan and Rosenthal Collections of Rare Judaica and Hebraica
• The Kapp Collection of Don Quixote
• General Special Collections of New York University

This guide includes tabs which provide specific information regarding our collections, including links to finding aids where appropriate. Printed materials that have been cataloged can be found using the library catalog. 

Search here for books, articles, journals and other print materials, videos, sound recordings, e-books, e-journals, databases, and indexes in our local libraries and special collections.