WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary is home to books and historic items touching on a wide variety of topics, but what many may not realize is that this invaluable resource is open to the community.
The Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library houses three major collections: rare books, manuscripts and the university archives. While not all the books are rare, its rare book collections include the second-largest collection of books in the country and all books are kept in one section in the collection. The library also has a large collection of fore-edge books.
“We’re very selective when we acquire rare books because we don’t have unlimited space,” Director of Special Collections Jay Gaidmore explained. “The rare books we have, a lot of them have been digitized elsewhere and the information is available online. So we like to have the rare books that we know professors will come in and share with their students.”
The library also has a large number of Cuban movie posters for movies that were never made. The most recent group features female graphic designers and women-themed films.
What some might not know is that the William & Mary Library is open to the public, as is its database. As long as they are on campus, anyone can access William & Mary’s collection.
“If you have a Williamsburg Regional Library card, and I believe York County Library card, you have reciprocal borrowing privileges,” Gaidmore explained. “So the students can use the Williamsburg Regional Library and community members can come here and check out books as well.”
The library notes it also has a large collection of genealogy resources and databases. There is even an academic version of Ancestry available to use. It also hosts a number of special events, from book talks to exhibits, that are open to the public.
One such event is the upcoming Halloween Open House, where Special Collections will pull out its spookiest and strangest materials, including Nathaniel Beverley Tucker’s death mask. That event is slated for Oct. 30 from 4-7 p.m. There will also be a Veterans Day book talk and open house on Nov. 8 from 6-8 p.m.
Gaidmore has some advice for community members who wish to donate to the collection but are not sure if their items are worthy.
“When in doubt, don’t throw it out,” he asks. “It always pains me when I hear say ‘I just threw those out I didn’t think anyone cared about Vietnam war letters, that was only 50 years ago.'”
“If we don’t save it today, it won’t be there tomorrow,” he added.
For more information about Special Collections including hours of operation, visit its official webpage.
