The Rare Book and Pennsylvania Collections

The Rare Book Collection and the Pennsylvania Collection housed in the IUP Special Collections and University Archives serve to protect many valuable and unique publications in the IUP Libraries. Although many items were acquired through donations, an active acquisitions policy has significantly increased these holdings.

English and American Literature form the basis of the Rare Book Collection, which serves as an integral component for research, scholarship, and doctoral programs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Collection contains out-of-print titles related to the history of the Commonwealth.

Collection Strengths

• Although these book collections do not circulate, you can search titles on the IUP Libraries' website.

• First and limited editions, and out-of-print works published by notable printing presses.

• Publications associated with significant or famous individuals, often signed copies. An excellent example in the collection is George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (1938), which includes handwritten notes and corrections to the text made by Orwell.

• Examples of fine printing or binding, including unique items such as the seventeenth-century Spanish Illuminated Manuscript featuring handwritten accounts from the Court of King Philip IV of Spain.

• Schedule a research visit to the IUP Special Collections and University Archives by contacting Dr. Harrison Wick, hwick@iup.edu.