Special Collections acquires, preserves, and provides access to rare and unique scholarly resources. Officially founded in 1978, Special Collections serves as a scholarly resource for students, faculty, and staff of the University of Miami, and local, regional, national, and international scholars and researchers.

Special Collections houses an outstanding array of scholarly resources including collections of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, architectural drawings, prints, broadsides, posters, audio-visual materials, newspapers and journals, and other research materials.

Special Collections now maintains approximately 50,000 rare books and publications; 500 manuscript and archival collections (representing 10,500 linear feet of materials); 100,000 photographs; 5,000 maps; and 2,000 architectural drawings to support the teaching and research interests of faculty and students.

Harmful Content Statement

The University of Miami Libraries are working to assess past and current descriptive practices to ensure that materials accurately and respectfully describe the communities featured in our collections, with special attention paid to remediate language that is outdated or harmful to our patrons.

For more information, please see the Libraries’ Harmful Content Statement.