The great majority of our titles are cataloged, and their records may be located in NUsearch.
To request an item, create an account in the Special Collections Request System, and submit a request. Once the item has been paged, you will receive a link to book an appointment time to view the item in our reading room. Some material is stored off-site and requires 48 business hours for retrieval.
For archival materials, view a list of Special Collections finding aids or search through the Archival and Manuscript Collections database and request items from a staff member. There is also an alphabetical list of important individuals represented in archives or in our general manuscript material files.
Any Northwestern-affiliated patron or registered guest can request items, which can be available as soon as the next business day for consultation in our reading room. The number of works you may use simultaneously may be limited. Works you wish to consult again in the near future will be held on our hold shelf upon your request.
A world-renowned independent research library in Chicago, the Newberry offers readers an extensive noncirculating collection of rare books, maps, music, manuscripts, and other printed material spanning six centuries. Its staff provides award-winning service and supports a rich array of programmatic opportunities.
UIC Special Collections and University Archives
The Special Collection and University Archives of the University of Illinois at Chicago houses rare books and printed materials, manuscript collections, and university archives, specializing in the history of Chicago.
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
The Special Collections Research Center is the principal repository for and steward of the Library's rare books, manuscripts, University Archives, and the Chicago Jazz Archives. It holds an extensive collection of early printed books; manuscript collections, including papyri, medieval and Renaissance codices, and early modern European manuscripts; as well as modern American manuscript material; and official administrative records of the University of Chicago.
Explore Chicago Collections lets researchers, teachers and students search many locations at once. A unified search lets you locate thousands of archival collections and digital images at member institutions all over the Chicago area including the Chicago Public Library, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago.
CHM’s mission—to share Chicago’s stories, serving as a hub of scholarship and learning, inspiration, and civic engagement—is the foundation of the Museum’s programs and events, exhibitions, educational initiatives, publications, and collecting activities that touch the lives of all Chicagoans and help them make meaningful and personal connections to history.
The Ryerson & Burnham Libraries constitute a major art and architecture research collection serving The Art Institute of Chicago and scholars in the fields of art and architectural history with more than 500,000 print titles, 100,000 auction catalogs, 1,200 current serial subscriptions, and extensive digital collections.
The 1960s: Brochures, pamphlets, and ephemera from the Second-Wave feminism movement; materials on anti-war activities, civil rights, gay rights, and the ecology movement; counterculture periodicals; mainstream and underground comix
20th-century politics and history: The Spanish Civil War; posters from France's May-June 1968 strike; World War II underground publications; huge collections of political and anarchist pamphlets.
Literature: American and English fiction and poetry; foreign monographs; science fiction and fantasy pulp paperbacks, gay pulp novels; Samuel Johnson; Horace.
The avant-garde: Dadaist, surrealist, and futurist books; publications and archives of Fluxus-related artists and musicians such as Charlotte Moorman, Dick Higgins, Philip Corner, and Jim McWilliams; working files of The Outsider magazine; the Am-Mi (American Mid-century) Collection of 1960s and '70s small-press poetry and fiction.
Archival Collections: Berkeley Folk Music Festival; James B. Pinker; Garnett Family; Dublin Gate Theatre; Viola Spolin; Michael McDowell Death Collection; Charles G. Dawes; Tambimuttu; Leopold & Loeb; James Joyce.
Graphic Arts: Books and serials focusing on typography; bookbinding; book design; and illustration.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Periodicals
Prints and broadsides: William Hogarth; James Gillray
This is just a small sample of the some of the types of material housed in the McCormick Library. For a more complete overview, please visit our library homepage.
Many materials can be reproduced on request, and decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. See our Reproductions from our Collections page for the online form and information about reproduction fees and available digital file formats.
Note that text or images quoted or reproduced must be credited properly as belonging to the McCormick Library of Special Collections, by using the credit line "Courtesy Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Libraries." See the policies tab of our Reproductions from our Collections page for more information.
ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
The Archives Hub brings together descriptions of thousands of the UK’s archive collections. Representing over 330 institutions across the country, the Archives Hub is an effective way to discover unique and often little-known sources to support your research. New descriptions are added every week, often representing collections being made available for the first time.