Special Collections & Archives

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Research Assistance

The Special Collections & Archives Reading Room is currently appointment only. Please email specialcollections@sfsu.edu to schedule an appointment. 

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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