Special Collections

Resources at Harvard and Beyond

Microfilm Resources

Over 10,000 readers, histories, geographies, social studies, science and mathematics textbooks from the Historical Textbooks Collection have been microfilmed under grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The HOLLIS record for each title filmed contains a filming note and gives the reel and master negative numbers. The reels are available for use in Gutman Library whenever the library is open (see Hours), and may also be borrowed by other libraries through Gutman Interlibrary Loan. Copies of reels may be purchased through the Harvard College Library's Imaging Services (617-495-3995).

Copying Services

Photocopying and other forms of reproduction for Special Collections items are available, providing that the materials are not too fragile to be copied or that no copyright restrictions apply. More information is available from the Special Collections Librarian.

Related Collections

At Harvard:

Other collections in the Harvard University Libraries which complement Gutman's holdings include:

• Harvard University Archives: the official records of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, including the records of its administrative and academic departments as well as papers of its deans and faculty, are held here. The University Archives collects the official records of all schools, faculties, and divisions of Harvard University, with holdings extending from its founding in 1636 to the present.
• Houghton Library: pre-1800 historical textbooks and manuscript collections of many American educators and reformers.
• Schlesinger Library on the History of American Women: many manuscript collections documenting the role of women in education.
• Widener Library: collections on the history of higher education in America and throughout the world, in the Educ, Educ R, and Educ U classifications. These titles are cataloged and searchable, including by classification, in HOLLIS Classic.

At other institutions:

(Note: This section will be updated on a regular basis but should not be regarded as definitive.)

Historical Textbook Collections:

• Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX). Brown Library. Early-Day Textbooks.
• American Antiquarian Society
• Bridgewater State College. Special Collections. Early Textbook Collection.
• Butler University (Indianapolis, IN) (36KB pdf). Dellinger Education Collection.
• Center for Research Libraries (Chicago, IL). Textbook Collection.
• Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY). Rare Books and Manuscripts. Nila Banton Smith Historical Collection in Reading.
  
• Illinois State University (Normal). Special Collections and Rare Books. Historical Textbook Collection.
• Indiana State University (Terra Haute). Cunningham Collection.
• Jones Library (Amherst, MA). Special Collections. Clifton Johnson Collection.
• Kansas State University (Manhattan). Special Collections. Smith American Geography and Social Studies Education Collection.
• Library of Congress (Washington, DC).
  • Rare Books and Special Collections Division. McGuffey Reader Collection.
• Miami University (Oxford, OH). Walter Havighurst Special Collections Library.
  • King Juvenile Literature & the Schoolbook Collections (1MB pdf)
  • McGuffey Reader Collection (1MB pdf)
• Millersville University (Millersville, PA). Special Collections and Archives. Wickersham Pedagogical Collection.
• National Library of Education (Washington, DC). Textbooks Collection.
• Ohio State University (Athens). Archives and Special Collections. Textbook Collection.
• Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA). Cubberley Education Library. Historical Textbooks.
  
• State University of New York at Oneonta. Special Collections. Early Textbook Collection.
• Teachers College, Columbia University (New York, NY). Gottesman Libraries. Curriculum Materials Collection.
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Education and Science Library. Curriculum Collection.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  • North Carolina Collection
  • Digitized Textbooks from the Confederate States of America
• University of Oregon (Eugene). Special Collections. Textbook Collection.
• University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA). Special Collections. Nietz Old Textbook Collection.
  
  • 19th Century Schoolbooks [digitized texts]
• University of South Carolina (Columbia). Museum of Education.
• University of South Florida (Tampa). Special Collections. Early American Textbook Collection.
• University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg). De Grummond Children's Literature Collection - Textbooks.
• University of Texas at Austin. Libraries. K-12 Textbook Collection.
• Trinity College (Hartford, CT). Watkinson Library. Barnard Collection of School Textbooks.

Recent Textbooks can be found at:

• Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA). Educational Resource Center.
• Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater, MA). Educational Resource Center.
• Framingham State College (Framingham, MA). Ella C. Ritchie Curriculum Library.
• Lesley University (Cambridge, MA). Teaching Resources Collection.

Public School Reports:

• Boston Public Library (Boston, MA)
  
• Stanford University (Palo Alton, CA). Cubberley Education Library.
• Library of Congress (Washington, DC).
• Trinity College (Hartford, CT). Watkinison Library.

Resources on Children's Television:

• American Center for Children and the Media
  
• Center for Media Literacy
• KIDSNET
• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Archives (University of Pittsburgh)
• Museum of Broadcast Communications (Chicago, IL)
  
• National Public Broadcasting Archives (University of Maryland)
• The Paley Center for Media (New York and Los Angeles)
• Prix Jeunesse