Collection Usage
Special Collections materials will be available for use in the Kislak Center reading room by appointment only Monday through Friday until further notice. Please use the following link to book an appointment at least seven days prior to your visit and request the Special Collections materials to be consulted via our AEON system. To confirm that we have received your request and if you have any questions about your visit, please email asc.library@miami.edu.
In order to assist patrons who are unable to visit in person we maintain a list of University of Miami proxy researchers. If you are interested in proxy research assistance please email asc.library@miami.edu. All research arrangements are strictly between the patron and the proxy.
Who we are and what we hold
The Department of Special Collections is home to a wide array of rare books, manuscripts, archival collections, photographs and audio-visual items, maps, architectural drawings, artists’ books, zines, photographic collections, and other research materials that document the history of Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and beyond.
All of the materials held in Special Collections, from 15th century books to 21st century restaurant menus, are open to use by the public as well as the University Community. Special Collections is dedicated to supporting research and teaching using the collections and actively acquires new materials to create a fuller historical record.
We are also the home to the new Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Early Americas, Exploration, and Navigation, a renown gathering of maps, books, artefacts, artwork, and ephemera documenting the history of the Western Hemisphere, including the North and South Poles.
Deep Dives
This online series of webinars offer an informative, enticing, and educational look into a selection of images that are representative of materials in Special Collections.
Strutting about, this Rooster is made of paper cut in the traditional Polish wycinanki style. Examples abound in Cutting Paper, by Claudia Cohen and Barbara Hodgson, Heavenly Monkey Editions, 2013, part of our Artists' Book collection.
A Librarian