The Collection
The CollectionOhio Wesleyan University's Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Artifacts collection contains materials illustrating various methods people have used to record transactions, thoughts, and knowledge in language forms: cuneiform writing in clay tablets; Greek on papyrus; sacred texts in Sanskrit on palm leaves, in Hebrew on a leather scroll, in Latin and Ge'ez in illuminated manuscripts on parchment; early printed books. It also includes many rare books and examples of 19th and 20th century writings.
Additionally, Special Collections at OWU houses artifacts such as pre-Columbian pottery from Bolivia, Anasazi and Lower Mississippi culture pottery, Asian and African artifacts, oriental carpets, chinaware, and paintings.
Noteworthy individual collections include:
- The Bayley / Walt Whitman Collection, including first editions and photographs (view library catalog listings*)
- The Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning Collection, including books from their own library, art, and furniture (view library catalog listings*)
- The Leland Schubert Collection of 1920s imprint first editions (view library catalog listings*)
- The Gunsaulus medieval manuscripts and incunabula collection (view selected listings and digital exhibit)
- The Kate Greenaway Collection (view library catalog listings*)
- The Spanish Civil War Collection (view library catalog listings*)
- The Jaccaud Collection of Presidential Campaign Literature (view library catalog listings*)
- Early 20th century sheet music
- The Paula B. and Thomas W. Harvey Collection of Civil War Letters (view digitized collection)
- 19th century photographs of the American Southwest
- The Kelley circus and theater promotional materials collection
- Asian art and artifacts (view digital images of selected OWU items on the ASIANetwork)
*Please note that library catalog listings do not include all materials in a collection, especially any nonbook materials.
OWU Instructors: Using Special Collections in Your Courses
Are you an OWU professor or instructor who would like to use some of our rare books, manuscripts, or artifacts to augment your course instruction? Would you like to have a librarian teach your students about some of our interesting historical and cultural objects? Would your students benefit from a guided visit to our Special Collections? Would you like to build a course assignment around some of our materials? Do you just want to learn more about what a librarian can do for your courses, or what's in Special Collections? If so, please contact us at 740-368-3288, email Stacy, or fill out this form: https://forms.gle/Ac3XvXU29pjTqVj97. We look forward to working with you!
OWU Special Collections: Digitized materials
- ASIANetwork IDEAS Project of Asian Art MaterialsIncludes items from OWU and other institutions, from a Luce Grant project.
- Branch Rickey CollectionPhotos, articles, and ephemera from the OWU Historical Collection related to Rickey's time as a student, athlete, coach, athletic director, and trustee.
- Letters: Clason lettersDigitized letters of Marshall Blair Clason (OWU 1858), written to his family during his time as a Union soldier in the Civil War.
- Letters: Harvey collection of Civil War lettersThe Paula B. and Thomas W. Harvey Collection of Civil War Letters consists of handwritten letters, diaries, and newspaper clippings concerning the experiences of Union soldiers from Muskingum County, Ohio in the Civil War.
- Letters: Wesley letters from the Archives of Ohio United MethodismThis collection contains two letters written by the founder of Methodism, Rev. John Wesley (1703-1791). One letter is written by Wesley to Mrs. Mary Savage in 1772. The other is written to a young Miss Agnes Collinson in 1790, a year before Wesley’s death.
- Medieval Manuscripts and Incunabula at OWU (Gunsaulus Collection) selectionsIncluding a link to the digital exhibition for the "Festive Collectarium of Abbot Sigismund."
- Our Shared History: Delaware, Methodism, and Ohio Wesleyan UniversityThe interrelated history of the city, the Church, and the college as told through materials from the Archives of Ohio United Methodism, the Delaware County Historical Society, and the OWU Historical Collection.
- OWU Faculty Bibliography (continuing Celebration of Scholarship 2004-Present)Bibliography compiled annually by OWU Libraries to document achievements of faculty and staff who published a book or article, created a music score or sound recording, exhibited artwork, or made a significant scholarly or creative contribution.
- OWU Faculty ProjectsInclude faculty-librarian collaborative projects created as part of the Five Colleges of Ohio Mellon Foundation grants.
- OWU Student Newspapers (including The Transcript), 1867-2005Full-text access to issues of the Western Collegian, Practical Student, Ohio Wesleyan Transcript, and The Transcript from 1867 to 2005.
- OWU Yearbooks (1960s)Searchable copies of Le Bijou from the 1960s.
- Wilson's American OrnithologyDigital access to the OWU Libraries' copy of Andrew Wilson's American Ornithology.
- See also: OWU Digital CommonsAdditional digital content is available from this institutional repository, which contains faculty publications and student symposia among other items.
740-368-3288
RBMA@owu.eduOWU Library Update
Beeghly Library will be closed for the 2023-24 academic year. Library services will continue, relocating primarily to Hobson Library in the Schimmel/Conrades Science Center. For more details:
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