The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) of the Earl Gregg Swem Library of
William & Mary defines the history of the university and promotes and preserves the scholarly pursuits of its faculty, students, alumni, visiting scholars, and friends. The SCRC contributes to the college's scholarly reputation by providing the rare books and unique manuscript and archival materials that make primary research possible. The SCRC is located in the Warren E. Burger Special Collections Wing of Swem Library.
Manuscripts The mission of the Manuscripts area of Special Collections is to provide primary source material for
William & Mary faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and visiting scholars and researchers. The Manuscripts Collections are primarily focused on
Virginia history from the 17th to the 21st centuries. They include the papers of many famous alumni and individuals who have shaped the course of Virginia and the nation. Among them are: • Virginia Family Papers including the Blows, the Galts, the Taliaferros, the Tylers, the Blairs, the Robbs, the Carters, and the Armisteads. • The Tucker - Coleman Collection. • Local History and Genealogy Collections including the Williamsburg Historic Records Association and the Tyree Collection. • Distinguished Alumni Papers that include those of
Thomas Jefferson.
Rare Books Collection The Rare Books Collection is a growing collection that provides research opportunities in many areas of western thought and experience from history to religion and science to art. Like the Manuscript Collections the Rare Books Collection focuses primarily on Virginia history but includes collections that cover many other areas and interests that span the 15th through the 21st centuries. The Rare Books Collection is actually made up of many distinct collections which each focus on a particular subject area or a particular period in the history of the book. These libraries include: • The general rare books collection which focuses mainly on Virginiana but contains books on historic gardening, military history, early American culture, travel accounts, science and medicine. There are seven incunabula (books printed before 1501) in the collection. • Five family libraries in amongst the Rare Books. These are the Skipwith library, the Tucker - Coleman library, the Jerdone Library, the
John Minson Galt library, and the John Millington Library. They all date from the 18th and 19th centuries. • The
Francis Nicholson Library is in the process of being acquired by Special Collections. The goal is to recreate the original library of William & Mary given by the colonial governor before the 1705 fire destroyed all but the single volume that is left. More than 80 of the original 150 titles are now in the library. • The Ralph Green collection on printing and the Joseph Hennage collection on printing and the Carol Beinbrink collection on papermaking total more than 1,400 volumes on the history of the book as an object, with the oldest title being the
Quadragesimale by Johannes Gritsch printed in 1479. • The Ralph H. Wark Collection of fore-edge paintings. Fore-edge paintings are painted on the edges of the leaves of a book so that they can only be seen when the edges are fanned. Carefully rendered paintings like this date almost entirely from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth centuries in England. • The Chapin-Horowitz collection of
cynogetica. This is the second largest collection of books about dogs in this country and continues to grow through its own endowment. It contains scholarly work that dates back to the sixteenth century as well as children's literature, breed guides, and the records of the
American Kennel Club.
University Archives The University Archives is the memory of
William & Mary, documenting its history from before the founding in 1693 to the present. The wide variety of materials relating to the college and its people through the years includes official records created in the college's daily operations, photographs, publications, video and audio tape recordings, personal papers and books or articles written by or about past or current William & Mary people, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and artifacts.
Warren E. Burger Collection The
Warren E. Burger Collection consists of the lifetime professional and personal papers and memorabilia of the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, as well as of related acquisitions, collected by the college. The Warren E. Burger papers were given to William & Mary by his son, Wade A. Burger in 1996. Warren Burger served as the 20th chancellor of William & Mary from 1986-1993. == Other libraries ==