Contact one of the curators below for questions in their areas of expertise.
Autumn Haag, Assistant Director
Erin Fisher, Special Collections Librarian
Melissa S. Mead, John M. and Barbara Keil University Archivist and Rochester Collections Librarian
The Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation (RBSCP) holds the University's rare and unique materials and collections, including the University Archives. The department features rotating exhibits and hosts classes, workshops, and lectures throughout the year. While our collections must be used on-site, we are open to the public and welcome everyone. The librarians and archivists in RBSCP are available to answer your questions and assist as you start your research project.
Phone: 585-275-4477
General Email: rbscp@library.rochester.edu
Library Hours: Monday-Friday, 9-5. Please note: The department will be closed Saturday, December 21, 2024 - Sunday, January 5, 2025 (Winter Break).
RBSCP is now using Aeon, UR’s Special Collections request system to manage researcher visits and reproduction requests. Aeon replaces the online and paper forms we had been using. If you would like to visit us in-person, request digitization, or book an optional appointment, you must create an Aeon account and submit your request there. All researchers will be asked to provide valid photo identification (such as UR ID or a driver's license).
RBSCP has over 500 manuscript collections that are described in online finding aids. Each entry gives basic descriptive information about the subject and material in the collection, the size of the collection, and its provenance (how it came to RBSCP). Finding aids contain a short description of the collection and, in some cases, a box-by-box or folder-by-folder listing of its contents.
Printed material -- books, maps, newspapers, journals -- is represented by author, title, and subject entries in the library's catalog. RBSCP also has a very strong collection of local history (Rochester and Western New York) materials and is the home of the University Archives.
Before visiting us, please note the following Reading Room Policies & Procedures:
● Researchers should not have hand sanitizer residue on their hands when they handle collection material.
● Researchers may bring laptops (no cases), chargers, phones, pencils, and loose papers into the Reading Room. Additional material, including bags and pens, must be left in a locker. .
● Directions to RBSCP: Enter through the ground floor entrance across from Library Lot, go straight down the hallway to the end, going past the elevator, restrooms, and the Art & Music Library. When you get to the end of the hallway, go up the stairs by the vending machines which will take you to the Eastman Quad entrance of the Library. Enter through the doors to your left, go through the Friedlander lobby, up the left marble stairs to the second floor, left through the glass doors to the Great Hall study area, and through the "Administration" doorway to the left. Rare Books is to the right at the end of that hall.
