University of Delaware Library Special Collections

University of Delaware Library Special Collections
Name	University of Delaware Library Special Collections
Established	1960s
Location	Newark, Delaware
Type	Academic special collections, archives, rare books
Director	Special Collections Department

University of Delaware Library Special Collections is the rare books, manuscripts, and archival research unit within the University of Delaware Library system that documents regional history, literary manuscripts, theatrical archives, and scientific papers. The unit supports research across disciplines by preserving primary sources associated with figures such as Bram Stoker, John Updike, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and institutions including the DuPont Company, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, and American Philosophical Society. Holdings include manuscripts, ephemera, rare imprints, and audiovisual materials that connect to events like the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Great Depression.

History

Special Collections grew from campus collecting initiatives tied to the University of Delaware's early 20th-century expansion and the influence of donors linked to the Du Pont family, Pierre S. du Pont, and regional philanthropies such as the Rockefeller Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In the 1960s and 1970s, acquisitions were shaped by scholars affiliated with the university who studied figures like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison. The unit expanded during the late 20th century through gifts from collectors of materials related to Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and theatrical archives connected to Ethel Barrymore and Alfred Lunt. Institutional partnerships with repositories such as the Library of Congress, National Archives, and the New York Public Library influenced cataloging and conservation practices.

Collections and Holdings

Collections document regional and national history with strengths in Delaware and Mid-Atlantic materials tied to the Du Pont family, Jacob Tome, and businesses like the Wilmington and Brandywine Railroad. Literary and artistic holdings include manuscripts and correspondence from authors such as John Barth, Czesław Miłosz, Ralph Ellison, Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens, T. S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Flannery O'Connor, and Eudora Welty. Theater and performance archives preserve papers of figures associated with the American Theater Wing, The Group Theatre, and regional companies that worked with artists like Paul Robeson and Vivien Leigh. Scientific and technical collections house laboratory notebooks, corporate records, and patent materials tied to inventors like Samuel Colt and companies such as DuPont and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Cartographic and visual resources include maps used during the War of 1812 and prints connected to the Hudson River School. Ephemera and printed materials range from incunabula associated with Gutenberg to modern small press literature linked to City Lights Booksellers & Publishers and New Directions Publishing.

Special Collections Units and Centers

Units and centers operate within the department, linking to regional and national initiatives such as the Center for the Study of Popular Music, collaborations with the Winterthur Museum, and thematic projects tied to the Delaware Historical Society. Curatorial areas include the Rare Books Unit, Manuscripts Unit, Oral History Program, and the Music and Theatre Collections which intersect with organizations like Theatre Communications Group and the American Musicological Society. Fellowship programs invite scholars associated with institutions like Yale University, Princeton University, Duke University, and Brown University to use the holdings for research on topics ranging from the Great Migration to twentieth-century modernism represented by figures like Ezra Pound and Marianne Moore.

Access, Services, and Digitization

Access is provided through reading rooms, supervised access policies modeled after practices at the Bodleian Library and the British Library, and reference services coordinated with the Association of Research Libraries. Services include instruction sessions for courses from departments such as English Department, University of Delaware, History Department, University of Delaware, and collaborations with the Praxis Center for digital scholarship. Digitization projects have partnered with platforms inspired by initiatives at the Digital Public Library of America and the HathiTrust Digital Library to present collections online, including scanned letters from figures like Edgar Allan Poe and photographic albums documenting industrial life at Bethlehem Steel.

Notable Manuscripts and Rare Items

Significant items include manuscript drafts from literary figures such as Herman Melville and Edith Wharton, theatrical promptbooks associated with productions by George Bernard Shaw and August Wilson, and scientific notebooks tied to chemists linked with DuPont innovation. The archives possess political papers connected to Delaware statesmen who interacted with presidents like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, as well as maps and broadsides from conflicts including the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Rare prints and bindings include examples from presses related to William Caxton and artists associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement such as William Morris.

Exhibitions, Outreach, and Educational Programs

Curated exhibitions rotate in campus galleries and traveling venues in collaboration with the Winterthur Museum, Delaware Art Museum, and regional historical societies such as the Chester County Historical Society. Outreach includes public lectures featuring scholars from Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University, K–12 teacher workshops aligned with curricula on figures like Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin, and internships that mirror programs at the Smithsonian Institution and National Gallery of Art. Educational programs support undergraduate and graduate pedagogy through primary-source instruction modeling practices used at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Facilities and Preservation Efforts

Facilities include climate-controlled stacks, conservation laboratories equipped for paper, photograph, and bound volume treatment, and digital preservation servers following standards from the National Digital Stewardship Alliance and guidelines from the Society of American Archivists. Preservation efforts deploy treatments informed by specialists from the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts and engage in disaster preparedness planning similar to protocols at the Library of Congress. Storage infrastructure supports long-term stewardship of audiovisual formats and born-digital records consistent with recommendations from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Category:University of Delaware Category:Special collections libraries