Researcher's Guide to Special Collections and University Archives: Home

There are a few ways to ask one of the Special Collections Librarians for assistance:

• Click on the blue tab at the bottom right of your browser screen, titled "Chat with a Librarian"
• Email Us
• Call us at (312) 996.2742 for Special Collections and University Archives at Daley library, or (312) 996.8977 for Special Collections at Library of Health Sciences

Currently, you can make an appointment to visit through this link, and you can also contact us via chat (click on the blue box in the lower right of your browser screen), email, or call us. Everyone is welcome to visit!

 801 S. Morgan Chicago, IL 60607, Room 3-330

Hours: Monday-Friday 10am-4:00pm

 1750 W. Polk St., Chicago, IL 60612

Hours: Monday-Friday 10am-4:00pm

Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) acquires, preserves and make available rare and unique materials including rare books, oral histories, university archives, manuscripts, photography, visual materials, and born-digital records. Collections are preserved to support scholarship, teaching, and learning by students and faculty of the University of Illinois Chicago and by the scholarly community at large.

SCUA seeks to document the broadest possible range of human experience. We will consciously work to augment the documentation of the experiences of those currently underrepresented in our holdings.

Manuscripts and Rare Books
Collection areas include materials from individuals, civic groups, government and non-profit agencies, businesses, religious organizations, cultural organizations, and other entities that reflect the diverse history and culture of Chicago and the Chicagoland area. Manuscripts include primary resources that document Chicago-related post-World War II politics and advocacy; design history; women’s political activism; social justice; Century of Progress World’s Fair; health science history (including nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and medicine); and the Jane Addams and the settlement house movement.

The primary focus of the Rare Books section at the Daley Library in Chicago is the political, social, architectural and literary history of Chicago. We also have collections that pertain to Black artists’ books, military history, Native American culture and the Caribbean. At the Library of Health Sciences, the strengths of the Rare Books Section are neurology, urology, dermatology, and the history of medicine. We also hold collections of early anatomies, herbals, pharmacopeias, and formularies.

University Archives
University Archives collects materials from University departments that have historic value as defined in the Illinois State Records Act (5 ILCS 160/) and University of Illinois System Records Retention Schedule. University Archives also collects relevant materials that document the historical legacy of the University of Illinois Chicago, including its predecessors, student life, and faculty research. University Archives contains documents, photographs, artifacts, audio-visual recordings and born-digital records related to the history of UIC.