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News from the Rare Books Department of Special Collections at the J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah

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“I am the canopy in the opera of dusk the vast irrational archive the void I wore as a veil opening my book the trees I felled still falling and then a curtain the grief of evening walking and r...

This September, join the American West Center for a series of lively talks and readings about Sacajawea’s legacy… Presentations will include readings from Dr. Wanda Pillow and Debra Magpie Ear...

“The importance of these prints derives not only from the fact that they are early witnesses to the use of printing in the Middle East, or their textual and artistic content, but also from their rar...

Join us this month to learn more about the History of Special Collections at the Marriott Library with Archiving the Archives – an exclusive community showcase – on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, ...

Rare Books Team

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Lyuba Basin

Rare Books Librarian
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Jonathan Sandberg

Rare Books Assistant
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Alexander Jolley

Rare Books Assistant

Connect with Rare Books

Search for material in the rare book collections in Usearch. Access the rare book collections by visiting the Special Collections Reference and Reading Rooms, level 4.

The Rare Books Division of Special Collections holds more than 80,000 books, maps and ephemera documenting the record of human communication from clay tablet to artists’ book. Collection strengths include illuminated manuscript facsimiles; Mesoamerican codex facsimiles; Arabic papyrus, parchment and paper fragments; Middle Eastern manuscript and print material; published works on science, travel and exploration; the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; fine press and artists’ books; and the works of twentieth century authors such as Robinson Jeffers, Ernest Hemingway, Wallace Stegner and others.  Smaller but equally important collections include material on European politics, law, literature, philosophy, medicine, and performance arts; United States constitutional history and much more. The rare book collections preserve a heritage of thought, artistic endeavor, and innovation that inspires the human spirit today. By actively collecting, preserving, and digitizing material of historical and aesthetic importance, the Rare Books Division provides reference, research and educational access to local, regional and international communities – strengthening the ability of faculty to teach, students to learn, and communities to find common denominators.

– Novum Organum, 1620