Access rare and distinctive materials

Stanford University Libraries acquires, preserves, and makes available materials of enduring historic value to support the research needs of Stanford students and faculty and the larger scholarly community. Collections of non-circulating research materials across the Libraries include personal papers of scientists, artists, performers, political activists, and writers; maps; photographs; manuscript drafts; rare books; artists’ books; audiovisual materials; records of departments and organizations; and more.

Plan your visit

• Many of our special collections materials are housed offsite and must be requested in advance of your planned visit. 
• There are limits on how many items you can request, and some materials may require digitization before use. This can extend the time needed to fulfill a request. Consult the repository-specific policy pages before scheduling your visit. 
• You can place requests through SearchWorks, the Libraries’ online catalog, or through Archival Collections at Stanford, our portal for searching and exploring finding aids (detailed collection guides.) Stanford finding aids are also discoverable in the Online Archive of California. 
• We ask patrons to help us preserve our rare and unique materials by following special handling requirements. Please consult our collection handling guidelines prior to your visit.
   

During your visit

• Visitors without a Stanford ID will need to supply a government ID and register upon entrance to Stanford Libraries.
• We ask that you arrive with clean hands, and do not bring food or drink into Libraries spaces.
• All personal belongings except for pencils, individual sheets of paper, cell phones, and laptop computers must be placed in a designated storage space before using special collection materials.
• Non-flash photography of materials for research purposes is typically allowed. When you arrive, please ask reading room staff if there are additional restrictions on photography.
• Policies on digitization may differ across collections and types of materials.
• Library staff are here to help. When in doubt, please ask.

Plan your visit

Many of our special collections materials are housed offsite and must be requested in advance of your planned visit. There are also limits on how many items you can request, and some materials, particularly media formats, may require digitization before use. This can extend the time needed to fulfill a request. Consult the repository-specific policy pages before scheduling your visit. 

You can place requests through SearchWorks, the Libraries’ online catalog, or through Archival Collections at Stanford, our portal for searching and exploring finding aids (detailed collection guides.) Stanford finding aids are also discoverable in the Online Archive of California. 

We ask patrons to help us preserve our rare and unique materials by following special handling requirements. Please consult our collection handling guidelines prior to your visit.
 

During your visit

• Visitors without a Stanford ID will need to supply a government ID and register upon entrance to Stanford Libraries.
• We ask that you arrive with clean hands, and do not bring food or drink into Libraries spaces.
• All personal belongings except for pencils, individual sheets of paper, cell phones, and laptop computers must be placed in a designated storage space before using special collection materials.
• Non-flash photography of materials for research purposes is typically allowed. When you arrive, please ask reading room staff if there are additional restrictions on photography.
• Policies on digitization may differ across collections and types of materials.
• Library staff are here to help. When in doubt, please ask.