The Rare Book Collection and the Pennsylvania Regional History Collection in the IUP Special Collections and University Archives provide access to many unique publications at the IUP Libraries. Many of these resources were acquired through donations, and an active acquisitions policy has significantly increased IUP holdings.
Collection Strengths
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Although the books and archival resources in the Rare Book Collection and the Pennsylvania Regional History Collection do not circulate, you can search for titles using the Search Our Collection feature on the IUP Libraries' website.
- English and American Literature form the basis of the Rare Book Collection, which is an integral component for research, scholarship, student-centered projects, and doctoral programs. Discover the publications and manuscripts of author Agnes Sligh Turnbull (1888–1982), Class of 1910.
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Search Our Collections for first or limited editions and out-of-print works published by notable printing presses. Publications associated with significant or famous individuals, often including signed copies. An excellent example in the Rare Book Collection is George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (1938) which includes handwritten notes and corrections made by Orwell. For more information about George Orwell, see the archival collection of Rosaly DeMaios Roffman.
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Examples of fine printing, including unique works such as the Hamishah Humshe Torah published in 1566, and the Seventeenth-Century Spanish Illuminated Manuscript that features handwritten documents from the Court of King Philip IV of Spain.
- The Pennsylvania Regional History Collection includes books and archival collections associated with industrial heritage, military history, atlases and maps, Native Americans, and government records dating to the colonial era. These collections strengthen IUP's values of diversity, equity, and inclusion that have led to the development of the IUP Social Justice Project.
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Schedule a research visit at the IUP Special Collections and University Archives by contacting Dr. Harrison Wick, hwick@iup.edu.