Overview
UW Libraries’ Special Collections collects, preserves, and makes accessible rare books, manuscripts, papers, records, oral histories, photographs, historic maps, moving images, architectural drawings, and other material with a regional emphasis on the Pacific Northwest. Some items have been digitized and are available through Digital Collections; however, the vast majority are available only on-site.
Please note: Appointments are required to use manuscript material in Special Collections. A link to their appointment form is on the Special Collections website.
Special Collections’ core areas include:
- Book Arts & Rare Book Collections
- Digital Collections & Exhibits
- Digitally Preserved Websites
- Historical Visual Materials
- Labor Archives of Washington
- Pacific Northwest Collection
- University of Washington Archives
- Washington State Jewish Archives
Items within Special Collections are non-circulating (i.e., cannot be checked out), and many must be retrieved for users by specific request.
What are Finding Aids?
A finding aid is a detailed inventory of the content of a manuscript or archival collection. Finding aids help researchers identify the boxes or folders of interest within a collection. A typical guide also provides background information on the organization or person who created the material, an overview of the collection, how it is arranged plus a detailed container list, location (some collections are housed offsite and must be requested in advance), and any use restrictions.
How to Locate Finding Aids?
Archives West is a searchable database of finding aids in Special Collections and at other libraries in the Pacific Northwest. Use Archives West to identify collections of interest. You can search by name, organization, or topic keywords.
Example: This is part of the collection guide for the Higano Family Papers. As I scroll down the guide, I see that in Box 1, Folders 9-11 are letters from Kenji Okuda. I request to see this box (once Special Collections is open) and then browse through the folders in order to find this May 1942 letter from Kenji Okuda to Norio Higano, describing conditions at the Puyallup Assembly Center (aka Camp Harmony).
Activity: Explore Special Collections
- Do a keyword search for a topic of interest in Archives West and scan through some collections guides. Some of the guides will link to digitized items.
- Do a keyword search for a topic of interest in Digital Collections and browse through some of the results.
Reflection
- In what ways could your research leverage archival collections?
Bonus Tips for Accessing Special Collections Materials
- Contact Special Collections before your first visit.
- If the collection guide does not have a box/folder listing, check to see if there is an inventory that lists the content (for example: the collection guide for the Association for Women in Communications records includes an inventory linked under “View inventory/container list for this accession“)
- Request the boxes you need before your visit (some collections are housed offsite, and some have access restrictions that can be cleared if you email beforehand)
- Come prepared with your phone to take photos of the material you need (but ask permission before using)
- For information on using UW Special Collections, contact Special Collections or the relevant subject curator. Each collection listed above has a responsible curator who is familiar with the collections and often have topical subject expertise that can help guide you in accessing relevant collections.
- See Using the Collections before making an onsite visit (once Special Collections is open)