Special Collections Research Center

Yellow sign on the Media Center highlighting the importance of donor funding
Special Collections

Special Collections

Location: First floor of Swem Library (Map)
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Email: spcoll@wm.edu
Follow us on Twitter
Today's Hours: Closed

Get Started

Quick Links

Spotlight

An airport terminal with passengers seated and walking.

Manuscripts

Ivy Li '23 Photograph, Documenting Life During COVID-19

This collection of personal reflections and experiences during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic includes this photo taken on March 21st at Los Angeles International Airport. "Although it was midnight, the airport was full of people waiting to board on planes. Most of them were going to return to their home countries." View Collection
Surgical kit

Manuscripts

Jefferson H. Clark Collection

The Jefferson H. Clark collection contains a variety of materials from Clark’s service in World War I, including photographs, documents, Clark’s helmet, and this surgical kit.  View Collection
Headshot of Satoshi Ito

Oral Histories

Satoshi Ito Oral History Interview

Professor Ito shares his experience in a Relocation Center in Arkansas during World War II, the evolution of W&M's Department of Sociology, and his volunteer efforts with the Anti-Racism Commission, Diocese of Southern Virginia, the New Kent County Democratic Committee, and the Human Rights Committee of Eastern State Hospital.  View Collection

The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at Swem Library connects students, faculty, and researchers with rare and unique materials, including: 

  • original manuscripts 
  • photographs 
  • rare books 
  • maps 
  • audiovisual media 
  • and more 

Special Collections is open to all researchers for onsite research, but with limited capacity in our reading room. We strongly encourage requesting an appointment to ensure that we will be able to accommodate your visit. We may need to limit your appointment to two hours depending on demand. Please email us at spcoll@wm.edu with requests for appointments, research consultations, and any other questions.

Ask Us

 

Highlights from the Archives

An Acquired Taste

All Posts
 

Enhancement of a collection lost in the 1705 library fire

A book on the fascinating history of the W&M library was published by John M. Jennings in 1968 - The Library of The College of William and Mary in Virginia, 1693-1793.
 

SCRC Research Travel Grants Program Returns for 2025-2026

The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) of William & Mary Libraries is pleased to announce that it will award travel grants to faculty members, graduate students, and/or independent researchers to support research use of its collections. Writers, creative and performing artists, filmmakers, and journalists are welcome to apply.

Current Exhibit

All Exhibits
A historical engraving of a Black man in a suit overlayed on top of a map with the text "Un/Bound Free Black Virginians 1619-1865"

Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865

Traveling Exhibition

On display: March 17 - April 30, 2026

Location: Read & Relax

A traveling version of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture's exhibition, Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865, which tells the stories of free Black Virginians from the arrival of the first captive Africans in 1619 to the abolition of slavery in 1865.