Libraries Closed July 3-6

Neilson, Hillyer,  and Josten libraries, and Alumnae Gym are closed Thursday-Sunday, July 3-6 for Independence Day. For details, see Hours.

Geothermal Work Outside Neilson Library through Mid-July

While the main entrance is inaccessible, the south entrance (facing Alumnae Gym) and Burton lawn entrance are unlocked during open hours.

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Smith College Libraries

Materials in Smith College Special Collections

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Smith College Special Collections

Use the tools and links on this page to find materials in the College Archives, Mortimer Rare Book Collection, and Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History.

Search Tools

Special Collections Finding Aids

Finding aids to over 1,000 Smith College Special Collections archival and manuscript collections. Search the names of individuals, organizations or events.

  • To search a specific collection, use the navigation bar to the right of the page (or at the bottom, depending on your screen size)
  • Click on the arrows to expand each section to see the names of folders or groups of folders under each series or topic
  • Read the Scope and Content notes as well as the Biographical/Historical note on the main page to understand the subjects covered in the collection
  • Read the Conditions Governing Access notes for information about possible collection restrictions.

Discover Advanced Search

This is the best place to find materials in the Mortimer Rare Book Collection.

  • Search subject, keyword, author, title, or date range.
  • In the results list, under "Library Location" in the left panel, select "Smith College Special Collections"

Research Guides

These guides provide a starting point for research with some of our most frequently used materials in Special Collections.

Digitized Content

In the Finding Aids

Special Collections Finding Aids To review digitized material available for each collection, click on the "View Digital Material" tab for each finding aid.

On the Website

Smith Digital Collections Smith College Special Collections offers digital resources that can assist your research. These resources represent a sampling of the materials in the Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History, College Archives, and Mortimer Rare Book Collection.
Compass: Digital Collections Digital images from the collections at Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire colleges. Images from Smith College represent materials in the College Archives, Mortimer Rare Book Collection, and Sophia Smith Collection.
Online Exhibits Exhibits on select topics represented in Special Collections. Includes images of collection materials and contextual information.

By Repository

College Archives Digital Collections - Images, online exhibitions, and documentation of significant events in the history of Smith College.

Digitized College Publications - Class Books, curriculum catalogs, Smith Alumnae Quarterly, and other publications produced by Smith College, past and present.

Archive-It Web Archiving - Archived web content for Smith College including the Libraries and Special Collections.

Mortimer Rare Book Collection Selections - A selection of digitized materials pages from various printed books and manuscripts (hosted on Artstor; Smith login required when off-campus).

Woolf Online - A collection of materials related to Virginia Woolf’s writing of “To the Lighthouse,” in the late 1920s. Included are holograph drafts, diary entries and letters, early reviews, selected essays and photographs of the Stephen family, Cornwall and Talland House, all of which inform the setting and characters of the novel.

Digital Scriptorium - The Mortimer Rare Book Collection contributions to the Digital Scriptorium, an educational consortium of American libraries with collections of pre-modern manuscripts or manuscripts made in the tradition of books before printing.

Sophia Smith Collection Digital Collections - Select digitized materials from the SSC and databases featuring digitized SSC material.

Contact Special Collections

Neilson Library 
7 Neilson Drive 
Northampton, MA 01063

 

Staff & Contacts

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