Where are you located?
When are you open?
Can groups visit for a tour?
What do you have?
Do I need any special qualifications to use Rare Books and Special Collections?
Can someone in RBSC do my research for me?
If I travel to NIU to do research, where can I stay?
Can I make photocopies or scans of Rare Books?
A. We are located on the fourth floor of Founders' Memorial Library on the NIU campus, in rooms 402-403.
A. We are normally open from 8--4:30, Monday through Friday through the academic year. We often participate in NIU campus summer hours, which result in our being closed on Fridays during the summer, but open later Monday through Thursday. Changes in our schedule are posted to our website.
You may also make an appointment to use RBSC materials with the Curator outside of our normal hours. These appointments are made available to researchers as well as to class and community visits. To make an appointment with the Curator, please call (815) 753-0255 or email lmthomas@niu.edu
A. Absolutely! We are happy to talk to groups and classes of all ages and educational levels. We do ask that you call ahead to make an appointment for groups, however, so that we can gather items of interest to you. Teachers of any and all age groups are encouraged to contact the Curator about opportunities for encouraging your students to use RBSC. We will gladly tailor our tour, class, or discussion to your research or teaching interests.
A. In addition to about 10,000 rare books, predominantly in history, art, literature, religion and philosophy, we also have 42 Special Collections. The largest portion of our collection is devoted to popular literature, especially from the period 1840-1940. We have one of the largest collections of dime novels in the country (50,000 at last count through the Johannsen and LeBlanc Collections), and the most comprehensive collection of Horatio Alger, Jr. materials in the country. We are also particularly strong in British and American poetry (Blake, Burns, Byron, Wordsworth, and Whitman) as well as prose (Graham Greene; Alan Denson; James Hanley; Jeremy Taylor) and drama (Nisbet-Snyder and University Drama Collections). We have collections in African Americana (including the Willard Motley papers); Gender Studies; Fine Arts, including a particular focus on Japanese printmaking; Southeast Asian materials; Radical Pamphlets; Maps; and the Art and History of the Book. If you are looking for a specific title, please search our Online Catalog. However, some of our collections are not fully cataloged, so by all means, please ask us if you do not find what you are looking for.
A. NO. Rare Books and Special Collections is open to anyone who wishes to use the materials. This includes not only NIU faculty, staff, and students, but members of our community and the general public. We are always happy to provide tours and "show and tell" to school and community groups. An appointment is not necessary to use our collections, but we do recommend that if you have specific in-depth research needs, or wish to bring a group, that you contact the Curator ahead of time, so that we may have your materials ready for you. Please see our Use policies for details.
A. Although we are happy to try to answer questions to the best of our ability, we generally cannot perform in-depth research for patrons due to limited staffing. We are always happy to help you determine if a visit to our collection will meet your research needs. If you aren't sure, please ask!
A. There is a hotel in the NIU Holmes Student Center, directly across from the Library, that often has rooms available. You can find more information at their website There are other hotels in the area available as well. Please contact us for further details.
A. Photocopying and scanning is available in RBSC, dependent upon the condition of the item. Copies are $0.15 per page in person; $0.20 per page by mail. The first 5 copies are free. Scans are provided on a case-by-case basis. RBSC staff perform all copying and scanning. Unfortunately, we do not accept Huskie Bucks. Please see our PhotoDuplication policy for details.