Over the summer Rare Books & Special Collections and University Archives began combining patron services by launching our joint reading room. All researchers wishing to use materials from either collection should now come to Rare Books & Special Collections (Hesburgh Library 102) located on the ground floor of the Hesburgh Library near the West entrance. For researchers who have used University Archives in the past (located on the 6th floor of Hesburgh Library), please come to the Special Collections front desk to inquire about and to consult University Archives’ materials.
If you are looking for materials from either collection, there are numerous ways to search Special Collections and Archives holdings:
NDCatalog contains all cataloged books, pamphlets, periodicals, broadsides, prints, posters, published materials, single manuscript volumes, and small archival collections held by RBSC.
To find large archival collections for both Special Collections and University Archives, you can search NDArchiveSpace. While most of these collections are also discoverable in the catalog, NDArchivesSpace goes much deeper, allowing researchers to discover many more names, dates, and content types than are included in the catalog record.
“Collections and Formats” on the RBSC website.
“About Our Collections” on the University Archives website.
In addition, both Rare Books & Special Collections and University Archives hold other materials that are not currently discoverable in the library catalog, NDArchivesSpace, or on their respective websites. Because of this, researchers may also want to contact staff directly about their research projects to see if there are other materials that may be of use.
Reading Room hours for Fall 2019 and Spring 2020
Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm*
Saturday – Sunday Closed
Major holidays Closed
Check for the most up-to-date hours
*Please note: materials in the reading room will be collected from researchers at 4:45pm