Guide to Searching Special Collections

The majority of the archival and manuscript collections in the SCRC are housed offsite and require 3-5 business days' advance notice for retrieval. It is best to contact us well in advance of your visit in order to ensure your materials will be delivered in time.

Search the archival collection guides

Browse Archival Collections by Topic

Browse collection inventories to archival collections held by the SCRC in a variety of broad topical areas. Special Collections also maintains a list of all archival collection inventories listed alphabetically.

Browse Bibliographies

These are guides highlighting the books, maps, and other materials Special Collections holds on particular topics (such as LGBT Resources, American Labor History, or Maps of Washington, D.C.) to assist researchers interested in a specific topic or collection.

Browse Digital Collections

The Special Collections Research Center has several digitized collections available online.

Search Library Catalog

Most Special Collections items (including books, maps, ephemera, graphics, and most collections) have records in the catalog.

Once you enter your search terms and hit search, try the following techniques to limit your results:

• To limit your search to items at GW Special Collections, use the Refine Your Results menu on the left to limit first by institution (George Washington University), and then by library (GW: Gelman Library).
• You can also filter your result via Subject, Resource Type (rare books, archival materials, etc), or Author/Creator.