Welcome to the Special Collections Research Center. This area was specifically designed to provide a protective and controlled environment for those Kelvin Smith Library materials which require extraordinary care and handling and which do not circulate. The collection consists primarily of either printed books or original manuscripts and documents, but also includes photographs, periodicals, works of art and audio-visual recordings. The major collections are grouped in the following six broad categories:
History of Science and Technology
There are many criteria used to determine which of the Kelvin Smith Libraries’ millions of items belong in Special Collections including; rarity, value, fragility, ephemeral nature, or because they are part of a distinctive subject or author collection. By acquiring, organizing, preserving, and providing access to the collection through reference services, finding aids, presentations, and exhibits the Special Collections Research Center fulfills its mission to support the teaching and research of Case Western Reserve University’s faculty and students and the local, national and international community of scholars and researchers.
The Kelvin Smith Library's online catalog provides one measure of access to the book collections. Search results indicate a Special Collections item if the citation notes one of the following locations: UL Spec Col Stacks; UL Spec Col Reference; UL Spec Col Vault. Please contact the Special Collections staff for further assistance by voice (216) 368-0189 or email kslspecialcollections@case.edu.
The collection links (listed above) are your portal to in-depth descriptions of the collection, finding aids for the manuscript collections and access to digital surrogates of Special Collections material.
Return Case or OhioLINK items to any Case library, yes. Case libraries have different hours, so your book might not get checked in on the day you return it if you use a bookdrop.
Return the CPL@Case-KSL books only to KSL, so the collection is here for you & others. Case libraries are not responsible for returning other local libraries’ books. Returning public library books here will not check them off of your account at those libraries.