The University Archives preserves UB's historical records alongside manuscript collections documenting Western New York's organizations, events, and communities, with a focus on activism, social movements, and cultural heritage for research use.
The Poetry Collection is the library of record for 20th- and 21st-century poetry in English. The Collection is one of the world’s largest collections of poetry first editions and other titles, little literary magazines, manuscripts, broadsides and anthologies.
The Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection includes historical materials in all areas of the health sciences, including dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health.
The Rare Books Collection began in 1935 with the donation of Thomas B. Lockwood’s collection of rare books and now comprises of over 14,000 titles including four 17th-century folios of William Shakespeare.
Special Collections includes four units: The Poetry Collection, University Archives, Rare Books Collection and The Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection. Housed separately from the Libraries’ regular collections, the rich literary and historical materials found in these collections make them invaluable to researchers and a distinguished part of the university.
Search online finding aids for archival and manuscript collections held by UB Special Collections in the finding aids database. Please note, not all finding aids are available online. Please see the webpages for each repository and contact staff for information on other collections