Special Collections, located in the basement of the library, is responsible for the Library’s Rare Book collection.
These are materials -- regardless of subject -- which may be rare, unique, have fine bindings, be autographed, or have special characteristics which make the books unsuitable for circulation or placement in the Library’s general open stacks.
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Interesting portions of the Rare Book collection include the Eudora Welty collection, the West Florida Cookbook collection, city directories and telephone books, the Children’s Book collection, and other materials.
Among the unusual items in the Rare Book Collection are a leaf from the Catholicon (1460), a copy of the Geneva Bible (1589), and other materials from the late fifteenth century to the present time.
The Rare Book Collection also includes contemporary published materials which may not be rare, but which deal with West Florida in terms of subject. These can include histories, genealogies of West Florida families, publications of West Florida organizations or agencies, books authored by West Florida writers, and similar West Florida thematic publications. This growing regional history collection complements the unpublished research collections of the Department to bring together in one place archives about the West Florida region.
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Materials in the Rare Book collection are listed in the UWF Library Catalog with the notation “Special Collections” as the storage location.
In some cases, additional copies and reprints or photocopies are available for loan.
Some government documents (federal, state, and local) in Special Collections are also filed in the Bibliography of West Florida collection.
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Because of their fragility and uniqueness, these materials may only be used in Special Collections Department and do not circulate. Users should be careful when handling materials.
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Date Last Updated: December 23, 1999