Special Collections & Archives

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Research Assistance

The Special Collections & Archives Reading Room is open Tuesday - Thursday, 10 - 4 PM. If you wish to make an appointment in advance of your visit, please email specialcollections@sfsu.edu.

You are welcome to submit questions or requests via email. Please allow up to five days to respond to your email.

The J. Paul Leonard Library's Special Collections & Archives contain a wealth of primary source material on a wide variety of topics. The collections include manuscripts, organizational records, personal papers, photographs, rare books, periodicals, audio-visual media, artwork, artifacts and ephemera. These collections support academic and personal scholarship on campus, in the wider community, and internationally.  Adjacent to the Reading Room of Special Collections & Archives is the Special Collections Gallery.

Instruction

The faculty of Special Collections also offer instruction.  Utilizing primary source materials, Library faculty can create course-specific assignments and lead customized classes to support primary source literacy.  Faculty can request instruction through our Primary Source Instruction Request form.

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