Rare Books & Manuscripts

The Rare Books Collection in Special Collections is a general collection incorporating materials that are considered too rare, too valuable, or too controversial for the main stacks.  It also serves as a catch-all for topics for which have significant holdings but not broad enough to stand on their own.  

• Among the topics which have significant subcollections within the greater whole, there are works on the Age of Exploration, the French Revolution, and Natural Science.
• Individual authors and literary figures are also highlighted.  For example, Jesse Stuart is an important regional poet and author from Kentucky, for which the collection also has the manuscript collections of friends, scholars, and collectors of his work, such as Gilbert Coble and Peter Gould.  Other individuals include William Shakespeare and the library of Lowney Turney Handy, who hosted the Handy Writer Colony in Illinois.
• Emphasis has been placed on books as artifacts including a collection of artists’ books.  Artists present ideas incorporated into bookmaking.
• Popular visual media are also included with a large collection of Big Little Books from the 1930s and a selection of modern comic books.
• The second part of the Singhurse Collection belongs to Sondra Singhurse, a fashion designer and interior decorator with a focus on color theory.  It includes her reference materials from her long career.   

Special Collections provides multiple avenues for the exploration of these collections.  Not all of them can be reached through the main library database or the Shadows of the Wabash collection of digital resources.  We are constantly working to expand your means of gaining access.  For this collection:

• Under the Books, Journals and More tab on the library homepage. You can include the term "Rare Books” in your searches of the main database.
• Under the Books, Journals and More tab on the library homepage, select Advanced Search.  You can limit searches to ‘Special Collections,’ which will allow you to find materials in our department.  You can add the term "Rare Books” in your search parameters which will narrow it down even more.
• Special Collections staff can be contacted through e-mail, phone, or LibChat to assist with research and make appointments to use the collection.

Ready to see this collection for yourself? You can come to visit us on the 3rd floor of the library, call us at 237-2610,

or e-mail us at Special-Collections@indstate.edu.