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Research Center Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room

Research Guides

This page contains guides and pathfinders that help users navigate the rich and diverse collections housed at the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. These research guides apply to selected collections organized by language, and sub-collections grouped by format, subject, topic, historical period or acquisition source.

Research Guide
American Women: Resources from the Rare Book and Special Collections Part of the American Women series, this guide highlights the rare book holdings related to U.S. women's history, demonstrates the richness and variety of these resources, and points out some of the division's contemporary holdings and unique treasures.
- Date: 2018-06-20
Research Guide
Anarchism and Radical Movements: A Rare Materials Guide This guide provides research strategies and resources for selected rare collections of books, pamphlets, and other materials relating to Anarchism and radical movements in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2023-10-06
Research Guide
Armed Services Editions Collection at the Library of Congress Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were specially-designed paperback books sent to troops during World War II. This guide provides an overview and links to resources for researching this complete collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
- Date: 2021-10-27
Research Guide
Benjamin Franklin Collection: A Resource Guide Beginning in 1882, the Library assembled a collection of books and pamphlets by and about statesman, publisher, scientist, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). This guide describes and offers strategies for working with this collection.
- Date: 2022-03-02
Research Guide
The Bible Collection: A Resource Guide from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division This guide provides contextual information and resources for patrons interested in the Bible Collection, created in 1938 in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
- Date: 2023-07-10
Research Guide
British Medievalism: A Subject Guide This guide provides information about collections items and resources for studying the medieval revival in Victorian England (1837-1901) and the first three decades of the twentieth century.
- Date: 2023-04-10
Research Guide
Bruce Rogers Special Collections: A Resource Guide Bruce Rogers (1870-1957) was one of the foremost typographers and book designers of his time. This guide provides an introduction to the Pforzheimer- and Shapiro-Rogers Collections of Rogers' books, designs, and personal papers in the Rare Book Division.
- Date: 2022-06-16
Research Guide
England and the Printing Press: A Subject Guide William Caxton (c. 1422–1491) brought the first printing press to England in the late 1470s. This guide provides resources for researching early English printers and imprints from the arrival of Caxton to the beginning of the 16th century.
- Date: 2022-08-19
Research Guide
Frederic and Bertha Goudy Collection: A Resource Guide This guide explores the personal library, papers, and publications of typographers, book designers, and fine press printers Frederic W. Goudy (1865-1947) and Bertha M. Goudy (1869-1935) held in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
- Date: 2022-05-18
Research Guide
The Giant Bible of Mainz : A Resource Guide Created between April 4, 1452 and July 9, 1453, the Giant Bible of Mainz is one of the world's most important illuminated manuscripts. This guide provides general information as well as related digital and print resources at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2022-07-14
Research Guide
The Gutenberg Bible at the Library of Congress : A Resource Guide Printed in Mainz, Germany in 1454/1455 by Johannes Gutenberg and Johannes Fust, the Gutenberg Bible is the first large-format typographic bible produced in Europe. This guide provides digital and printed resources from the Library of Congress Collections.
- Date: 2022-10-07
Research Guide
Hawaiian Imprint Collection: A Resource Guide This guide provides an overview of a collection of early Hawaiian imprints, dating from 1822 when printing first started in the Islands to about 1860, available for research in the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
- Date: 2020-07-07
Research Guide
John Davis Batchelder Collection at the Library of Congress From 1922 to 1936, John Davis Batchelder donated his personal collection relating to Western literature and history to the Library. This guide describes and offers search strategies for working with this collection of over 1,200 rare materials.
- Date: 2021-07-02
Research Guide
Joseph Meredith Toner Collection at the Library of Congress In 1882, Washington physician, historian, and bibliophile, Joseph Meredith Toner donated his extensive research collection to the Library. This guide describes and offers search strategies for working with this collection of over 50,000 rare materials.
- Date: 2021-02-08
Research Guide
Native American Resources from the Rare Book & Special Collections Division This guide provides research strategies and resources for selected rare collections of almanacs, broadsides, bibles, novels, pamphlets, and other materials related to North American indigenous communities at the Library of Congress. Resource guide for the study of Indian and Alaska Native peoples of the United States
- Date: 2018-06-20
Research Guide
New Jersey: History of Printing and Publishing Library of Congress collections include many examples of early printing in the state of New Jersey. This guide provides historical information, online research materials, and links to curated primary and secondary resources in a wide variety of formats.
- Date: 2020-10-01
Research Guide
Ralph Ellison Rare Book Collection: A Resource Guide From 1996 to 2000, the Library of Congress acquired the complete working library of American novelist, literary critic, and scholar, Ralph Waldo Ellison (1914-1994). This guide describes and offers search strategies for working with these materials.
- Date: 2022-02-11
Research Guide
The Russell Maret Artist Book Collection and Archive The Library of Congress has been acquiring the work of Russell Maret since the late 1990s. This guide provides information about Maret's life, work, and archive, available for research in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
- Date: 2023-07-13
Research Guide
Sigmund Freud Rare Book Collection: A Resource Guide This guide provides an overview of a collection of early editions of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud's works and books from his personal library available for research in the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
- Date: 2020-09-09
Research Guide
Sylvester & Orphanos Collection and Archive: An Introduction The Library of Congress holds the complete catalog of publications and related archival materials from the LGBT publishing firm of Ralph Sylvester (1934-2018) and Stathis Orphanos (1940-2018). This guide provides an overview of these materials.
- Date: 2021-02-10
Research Guide
Theodore Roosevelt Hunting Library at the Library of Congress In 1963 and 1964 Kermit Roosevelt presented his grandfather's hunting collection to the Library of Congress. It is composed primarily of late nineteenth and early twentieth century publications on hunting, natural history, exploration, and ornithology.
- Date: 2021-08-12
Research Guide
Thomas Jefferson Library Collection: A Resource Guide On January 26, 1815, Congress purchased the library of Thomas Jefferson for the sum of $23,950. The Jefferson Library forms the nucleus around which the present collections of the Library of Congress have been assembled.
- Date: 2022-04-21

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Final book requests at 4:15pm
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