The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign is one of the largest repositories for rare books and manuscripts in the United States. The collections—nearly half a million volumes and three kilometers of manuscript material—are strong in the broad areas of literature, history, art, theology, philosophy, technology, and the natural sciences.
Manuscript and book holdings range from approximately 3000 B.C.E. to the present. The collection of over twelve hundred fifteenth-century printed books (incunabula) is one of the largest university collections in the United States and is especially strong in classical texts, theology, pedagogy, and science.
The John Milton (1608–1674) Collection includes more than 100 seventeenth-century editions of Milton, with more than 3,000 volumes of later editions and works of criticism. Supporting the Milton Collection is a broad array of seventeenth-century imprints in English history, literature, and religion. The collection, developed by Harris Fletcher, forms the core of the Library’s outstanding holdings in seventeenth-century printed books and maps.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is open for all students, faculty, and community members to use!
Follow these steps:
1. Register online at: https://armarium.library.illinois.edu/logon
2. Find materials through the Online Catalog
3. Click on the link that says "Request the item for use in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library"
Our collections are open to all students, faculty and community members!
We are located on the 3rd floor of 346 Main Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
