Welcome to Special Collections

Collections of primary resources and valuable research materials have been grouped together in Special Collections. Special Collections contains two primary areas:

• Book Collections. Included are the Rare Book Collection, the Comic Art Collection, and a variety of other print collections.
• Microform Collections. The MU Libraries have one of the largest collections of microforms in North America.

Increasingly, a third area is evolving: that of Digital Collections that enable materials to be accessed around the world.

Special Collections is part of the Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books (SCARaB), of the University of Missouri Libraries at the University of Missouri.

Current Events and Announcements

NEW EXHIBIT! -- Children’s Literature: Selections from the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library

A new exhibit of materials from Special Collections and Rare Books will be on display in the Ellis Library Colonnade thoughout the month of October.

150 Years of On the Origin of Species

150 Years of The Origin of Species: The Historical Journey from Specimens to Species to Genes is a digital exhibit based on a physical exhibit mounted in the University of Missouri's Ellis Library from March 5th to March 31st, 2009 to honor the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his On the Origin of Species. This exhibition traces the concept of biological variation from the Renaissance through the 20th Century using rare and historical books from the Rare Books and Special Collections Department and other university collections.

Jacques Flach Collection

This site documents the journey of the library of Geofroi Jacques Flach from France to Missouri. He collected books over forty years during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The books were purchased by the University of Missouri from the Flach estate in the spring of 1920.

Adopt-A-Book Program

Many of the books in our collections are fragile, others need minor repairs, still others require extensive help if they are to survive this century. Please consider sponsoring a book. All monies will go directly to the care and maintenance of rare, fragile and just plain good books. As our thanks, your adoption will be noted in the Merlin online catalogue, and you will be invited to an annual Celebration of the Book event, sponsored by the Friends of the MU Libraries.