Featured Collections

Other Collections

Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado: Racial & Cultural Appropriation in American Theater Adaptations

This digital project is the result of an independent study project with Abigail Vertrone to explore the question:  How has The Mikado been adapted throughout the decades in response to the racism and cultural appropriation that plagues the original production? 

Audio/Visual Collections

Kenneth B. Keating Collection

Recorded interviews and written transcripts from lawyer/congressman/senator/justice/ambassador Keating's television programs, Let's Look at Congress and Senator Keating Reports.

Rare Books and Special Collections

Information about collections, projects, and exhibits within the Rare Books and Special Collections department.

Robbins Digital Projects

A collection of digital projects related to medieval studies, including The Camelot Project.

Rochester, New York Voices of LGBT History

Preserves and makes public the rich histories included in the documentary Shoulders to Stand On and the Green Thursday radio program, providing access to over 200 audio and video recordings that have been enhanced through transcriptions and/or closed captioning.

Video Games

A collection of nearly 400 video games for a variety of gaming platforms.

Videos and More

A collection of over 75,000 DVDs and streaming videos, including many popular film and television titles.

Correspondence Collections

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Papers

Fifty two letters from writer, reformer, and artist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) to her close friend Martha Luther Lane (1862-1948) written between 1882 and 1889.

Digital Collections

Links to our repository of digital projects and collections.

Edwin Booth

54 letters written by Edwin Booth to theatre critic and journalist John E. Russell during the years 1864 to 1881, concerning acting, theatre critics, Booth's theatre and family and social matters. 

Hayes-Coleman Family Papers

Correspondence, documents, diaries, physician's "visiting books," household accounts, photographs, and memorabilia of various members of the Hayes-Coleman family of Canandaigua, New York.

John McGraw Civil War Letters

Letters from John McGraw to his wife Mary from September, 1863 - March, 1865 while he was serving in Company E of the 140th NY Volunteer Infantry.

King Family Papers

Diaries and correspondence that documents the lives of Bradford King and family, from 1811-1874.

William Thomas Moncrieff Papers

Letters written by Moncrieff to Robert William Elliston, James Winston, a business associate of Elliston's, and Charles Molloy Westmacott, proprietor and editor of The Age.

Digital Projects

AIDS Education Posters

Thousands of posters from over 100 countries, documenting efforts to educate/inform on AIDS.

Digital Collections

Links to our repository of digital projects and collections.

FAITH AND JUSTICE: The Life and Legacy of Minister Franklin Florence

An exhibit honoring the life and legacy of Rochester Civil Rights leader and minister Franklin Florence, whose papers are held in RBSCP.

Frederick Douglass Project

A project seeking to digitize the Frederick Douglass materials held in the collections of the University of Rochester Library.

From Blossom to Persimmons: Examining the Poetry of Li Young-Lee

Andrea Sun’s research on the award-winning, critically acclaimed poet Li-Young Lee, explaining the extensive process and technique of developing and publishing poetry.

Lincoln and his Circle

Digitized and transcribed letters to, from, and about Abraham Lincoln; writings about Abraham Lincoln; the F. Seward Diary.

Living History Project

Oral history interviews intended to preserve University of Rochester history.

May Bragdon Diaries Project

Ten transcribed, annotated, and illustrated diaries spanning 1893-1914 document the life of a single working woman set free by the bicycle.

On Sir Robert Southwell's Notes

This online project presents the work of Keegan Matthews and mentor Alice Wynd, examining a 17th century manuscript containing Sir Robert Southwell's biographical notes on the 1st Duke of Ormond.

Post Family Papers Project

All of the materials in the Post Family Papers housed in the University of Rochester Library.

Rare Books and Special Collections

Information about collections, projects, and exhibits within the Rare Books and Special Collections department.

Religious Transcriptions of the Early Modern Era

Transcription of religious writings The Religious Meditations of John Eaton and Jerimyes Prognostication of Jerusalem's Overthrow. 

Robbins Digital Projects

A collection of digital projects related to medieval studies, including The Camelot Project.

Rochester Black Freedom Struggle Online Project

A permanent resource for continuing conversation, learning and research around Rochester's role in civil rights history.

Seward Family Digital Archive Project

One of the most comprehensive records of the life and times of an extended family in nineteenth-century America.

Sibley-Watson Digital Archive

Digitally reuniting four generations of Rochester’s Sibley Watson family, from Western Union to electron microscopy.

TEAMS Middle English Texts

Online full text of Middle English works, with glosses and notes.

The Camelot Project

A collection of Arthurian texts, images, interviews, and basic information.

The Cinderella Bibliography

An extensive annotated bibliography of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast texts, films, music, objects, and criticism.

The Crusades Project

Digital project devoted to the Crusades in English literature

The Robin Hood Project

A collection of texts, images, and information on the Robin Hood tradition.

UR Research

Institutional repository that provides storage and access for dissertations, preprints and similar materials. 

Visualizing Chaucer

Visualizing Chaucer documents through a bibliography and numerous images the history of illustrations of Chaucer’s works.

Ward Project

Digitally recreating the inventory of Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, supplier of specimens around the world from 1862 to 1906.

Historical Collections

Claude Bragdon Architectural Drawings

Preliminary sketches and studies, perspective sketches and renderings, working drawings on linen, blueprint copies, full scale details, photographs and specifications.

Digital Collections

Links to our repository of digital projects and collections.

Dryer Architectural Collection

Architectural drawings, specifications, correspondence, and business records for 765 architectural projects in Rochester and vicinity.

Ecumenical and Interfaith Archives of Rochester (EIAR)

Meeting minutes, reports, letters, newsletters, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, and promotional materials that document collaborative efforts within the religious community to meet human need, achieve mutual understanding, and work for social justice. 

Franklin Florence Papers

A large number of publications from various organizations around the country as well as articles from magazines and journals reflecting his interest and involvement in race relations, poverty, urban development and other social justice issues. 

George Eastman Papers

Correspondence, genealogies, photographs, and more.

Kingslake Papers

The papers and related items of two giants in the field of optics, Rudolf Kingslake and his wife Hilda Conrady Kingslake.

Kodak Historical Collection

Includes speeches, corporate papers and information about products of the Eastman Kodak Company.

Leo Hart Printing Co., Inc. Papers

Samples of books and materials relating to the printing of books by the Leo Hart Printing Company and its successors.

Lewis Henry Morgan Papers

Correspondence to and from Morgan, manuscripts of articles and speeches, manuscript notebooks and travel diaries, and the manuscripts of several of his books. Correspondents include Henry Adams, Adolph F. Bandelier, Charles Darwin, Joseph Henry, Francis Parkman, and Herbert Spencer.

Marion Bayard Folsom Papers

Papers of the 2nd United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

P. David Finks Collection

Writings, personal records, correspondence and more.

Rare Books and Special Collections

Information about collections, projects, and exhibits within the Rare Books and Special Collections department.

Rochester Race Riot Papers

Material associated with Rochester’s 1964 race riots and the recovery efforts that followed

Thomas E. Dewey Papers

Correspondence, speeches, personal papers, photographs, memorabilia, and other miscellaneous materials of the lawyer, politician, and 47th governor of New York State.

Thurlow Weed Papers

Correspondence, newspapers, pamphlets and scrapbooks of material relating to the career of Thurlow Weed, 1797-1882.

Image Collections

Bragdon (Claude) Theatre Drawings

Designs for fourteen Hampden theatre productions between 1920-1936.

Eastman (George) Photograph Collection

Over 4,000 negatives and photographs, part to the Eastman (George) Papers, dating back to the 1880s.

Ellwanger & Barry Horticultural Prints

Horticulture prints and drawings produced by printers in Rochester, NY, and by printers elsewhere in the United States, England, and Europe.

Palmyra, NY Photographs

312 glass plate negatives thought to have been made between 1890-1910 by a member of the Garlock family in the small upstate New York town of Palmyra.

Peter Barry & Rochester Local History Prints

Approximately 250 engravings, woodcuts, and lithographs depicting Rochester, localities in Monroe County and other sites in upstate New York.

Rare Books and Special Collections

Information about collections, projects, and exhibits within the Rare Books and Special Collections department.

Theatre Posters Collection

131 posters advertising attractions coming to Rochester, New York theatres during the early 1880s.

Woman's Suffrage Images

An index of images related to the woman’s suffrage movement.

Literary Collections

Adelaide Crapsey Papers

Correspondence, manuscript and typed copies of poems, manuscript and typed drafts of the studies of metrics, reading notes, critical notices of Verse, published and unpublished articles about Adelaide Crapsey, photographs and memorabilia.

Anthony Giardina Papers

Drafts, doodles, correspondence and other materials.

Carl Sandburg Papers

Typescripts and unrevised carbons of 110 poems and prose pieces by Carl Sandburg.

Colin MacInnes Papers

Correspondence, notebooks, manuscript drafts and typescripts, galley and page proofs of novels and plays, manuscript drafts and tear sheets of essays, writing notebooks, background files, financial records, and documents. 

Dorothy Dudley Harvey Papers

Typescripts, correspondence, and more.

Frederick Exley Papers

Correspondence, personal papers, memorabilia, ephemera, etc.

Hilda Doolittle Papers
Hyam Plutzik Papers

Biographical material, correspondence, manuscripts, lectures, and other miscellaneous materials.

Jerre Mangione Papers

Manuscripts, Articles, Typescripts, Photographs, and more.

John A. Williams Papers

Manuscripts, correspondence, audio/visual material, ephemera, and more.

John Gardner Papers
Paul J. Zimmer Papers

Manuscripts, correspondence, speeches, and more.

Rare Books and Special Collections

Information about collections, projects, and exhibits within the Rare Books and Special Collections department.

Local Interest

Architectural Drawings

Individual drawings and/or photographs by other Rochester architects including James B. Arnold, James G. Cutler, Herbert Stern, Carl R. Traver, Ward Wellington Ward, as well as some work for Ellwanger & Barry Realty.

Claude Bragdon Architectural Drawings

Preliminary sketches and studies, perspective sketches and renderings, working drawings on linen, blueprint copies, full scale details, photographs and specifications.

Dr. Walter Cooper Papers

Everything from report cards at the age of twelve to surveys of Rochester city schools in the 1960's to materials related to the 2009 founding and ongoing programs of the Dr. Walter Cooper Academy.

Dryer Architectural Collection

Architectural drawings, specifications, correspondence, and business records for 765 architectural projects in Rochester and vicinity.

Ecumenical and Interfaith Archives of Rochester (EIAR)

Meeting minutes, reports, letters, newsletters, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, and promotional materials that document collaborative efforts within the religious community to meet human need, achieve mutual understanding, and work for social justice. 

Franklin Florence Papers

A large number of publications from various organizations around the country as well as articles from magazines and journals reflecting his interest and involvement in race relations, poverty, urban development and other social justice issues. 

George Eastman Papers

Correspondence, genealogies, photographs, and more.

Harvey Ellis Papers

Correspondence of Harvey Ellis and other Ellis family members; drawings by Harvey Ellis; some records of the H. and C.S. Ellis Architectural Firm; articles and architectural studies clipped from journals by Harvey Ellis; and family members' documents. 

Kingslake Papers

The papers and related items of two giants in the field of optics, Rudolf Kingslake and his wife Hilda Conrady Kingslake.

Kodak Historical Collection

Includes speeches, corporate papers and information about products of the Eastman Kodak Company.

Leo Hart Printing Co., Inc. Papers

Samples of books and materials relating to the printing of books by the Leo Hart Printing Company and its successors.

Lewis Henry Morgan Papers

Correspondence to and from Morgan, manuscripts of articles and speeches, manuscript notebooks and travel diaries, and the manuscripts of several of his books. Correspondents include Henry Adams, Adolph F. Bandelier, Charles Darwin, Joseph Henry, Francis Parkman, and Herbert Spencer.

P. David Finks Collection

Writings, personal records, correspondence and more.

Palmyra, NY Photographs

312 glass plate negatives thought to have been made between 1890-1910 by a member of the Garlock family in the small upstate New York town of Palmyra.

Rochester Black Freedom Struggle Online Project

A permanent resource for continuing conversation, learning and research around Rochester's role in civil rights history.

Rochester Gas & Electric Lantern Slide Collection

This online exhibit presents images of some of the over 500 glass plate lantern slides, including photographs, advertisements, etc.

Rochester Race Riot Papers

Material associated with Rochester’s 1964 race riots and the recovery efforts that followed

Rochester's Hope: The University of Rochester and Mt. Hope Cemetery

Explores the connections between Mt. Hope cemetery and the University.

Rochester, New York Voices of LGBT History

Preserves and makes public the rich histories included in the documentary Shoulders to Stand On and the Green Thursday radio program, providing access to over 200 audio and video recordings that have been enhanced through transcriptions and/or closed captioning.

Thurlow Weed Papers

Correspondence, newspapers, pamphlets and scrapbooks of material relating to the career of Thurlow Weed, 1797-1882.

Upstate New York and the Women's Rights Movement

Letters, books, photographs and ephemera commemorating the passage of the nineteenth amendment giving women the vote.

We Want More And We Will Have It: Women Running Rochester

Showcases the many spheres in which women have made our city run, including politics, activism, education, etc.

Online Exhibits

150 Years, 150 Treasures: An exhibit in honor of the University's Sesquicentennial

150 Treasures from the Libraries in honor of the University of Rochester’s Sesquicentennial.

All the School's A Stage: Student Theater at the University

Documents and celebrates the history of theater at the University of Rochester.

Beauty for Commerce: Publishers' Bindings, 1830-1910

Chronicles the development of English and American publishers' binding from the 1830s to the early 20th century.

Beyond Windmills: Commemorating Cervantes, Representing Don Quixote

Students examine illustrations from various editions of Cervantes' Don Quixote.

Carl W. Peters & His Artistic Legacy: The Rochester WPA Murals

This digital project by Ellis Siepel explores the art and life of the artist Carl William Peters, including his WPA murals and his expressions of American Regionalism in Fairport, New York’s Canalside Farmland. Carl W. Peters papers (D.422) are part of the collections in RBSCP.

Celebrating Rochester's Rocky Simmons: The Life & Photographs of an African-American Activist

Photographs of the activist, as well as those he took of people and places important to him.

Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America

Theatre posters, programs, letters and memorabilia related to the renowned Victorian-era theatrical partnership.

Rochester Gas & Electric Lantern Slide Collection

This online exhibit presents images of some of the over 500 glass plate lantern slides, including photographs, advertisements, etc.

Rochester's Hope: The University of Rochester and Mt. Hope Cemetery

Explores the connections between Mt. Hope cemetery and the University.

Silent Sounds, Invisible Images: Reanimating the University's Recorded History

Explore the audiovisual history of the University, from the 1920s to 2008

Susan B. Anthony: Celebrating "A Heroic Life"

Letters, photographs, printed material and memorabilia drawn from our extensive Anthony and woman suffrage collections.

Upstate New York and the Women's Rights Movement

Letters, books, photographs and ephemera commemorating the passage of the nineteenth amendment giving women the vote.

We Want More And We Will Have It: Women Running Rochester

Showcases the many spheres in which women have made our city run, including politics, activism, education, etc.

Wilson's Days: The Life and Legacy of Joseph C. Wilson

Explores Wilson's life and legacy through photographs, correspondence, speeches, and audio and video recordings.

Writings of Consequence: The Art of John A. Williams

Highlights of the John A. Williams archive: manuscripts, drafts, notes, photographs, audio-visual materials, correspondence, etc.

Printed Materials Collections

Broadsides Collection

Information and images for approximately 1,400 broadsides, broadsheets, circulars, and printed forms.

 

College of Education (now the Warner School of Education) MA Theses, 1939-1979

Masters' theses written by University of Rochester students in the College of Education (now the Warner School of Education) between 1939 and 1979.

Gordon and Kaelber Papers

Comprised of one series: Business Papers. This series contains pages from the firm's design books that include buildings the architects designed themselves, as well as examples of structures they admired.

Manuscript Collections

A-Z list of finding aids for our manuscript collections.

Nurserymen's Plate Books

A collection of more than 50 platebooks, marketing tools for the nurserymen of the late 19th & early 20th centuries, containing color images of fruits, roses, etc. that reflected a nursery’s current inventory available for sale.

Poetry Broadsides Collection

Several hundred small press poetry broadsides, including work by John Berryman, John Gardner, Louise Gluck, John A. Williams, Robert Bly, William Heyen, and UR's own Jarold Ramsey and Hyam Plutzik.

School of Business Administration (now the Simon School) MA Theses, 1956-1968

Masters' theses written by University of Rochester students in the School of Business Administration (now the Simon School) between 1956 and 1968.

Publications

BookMark

A newsletter for the River Campus Libraries, published from 1997-2006.

Library Bulletin

Published on a regular, and later irregular, basis from 1945 until 1994. Its contributors were library staff and University of Rochester professors, as well as other scholars and researchers.

The Empty Closet

Digitized version of the entire run (1971-) of one of the oldest continuously published LGBT papers in the United States.

Tower Talk

A collection of the latest news from the University of Rochester River Campus Libraries.

University of Rochester Student Newspapers

Issues of student newspaper, Campus Times, and the “CT” family tree (The Rochester Campus, The Campus, The Cloister Window, and Tower Times).

University Publications

Administrative papers, moving image and audio recordings, maps, architectural drawings, and photographs related to the University of Rochester.