Hours and Services

Currently we offer research-support and reference services by email or appointment for the Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Artifacts at Ohio Wesleyan University. Contact Stacy for more information. Due to summer availability, please allow at least one to two weeks for a response. For more general inquiries, please contact the OWU Libraries at 740-368-3225 or libraries@owu.edu.

The Collection

Ohio 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, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning Collection, Leland Schubert Collection of 1920s imprint first editions, Gunsaulus medieval manuscripts and incunabula collection, Kate Greenaway Collection, Spanish Civil War Collection, Jaccaud Collection of Presidential Campaign Literature, and Kelley circus and theater promotional materials collection.

Click to view a list of online resources for Special Collections, including links

to digitized manuscripts, rare books, art collections, and more.