What's so special about "Special Collections"?
“Special Collections” is a term that librarians and
archivists use to describe materials that are held in a library but are not part of the “General Collection,” i.e.,
those things in the library stacks that you can check out and/or use freely:
books, periodicals, DVDs, and so on. Items in special collections often include
such things as rare or valuable books, archives, delicate or fragile materials, manuscripts, ephemera (like posters or
tickets), and other items whose uniqueness or value to the institution and
general public necessitate that they be sequestered and protected for future
use by researchers.
Looking for the Wofford College Archives or the South Carolina United Methodist Collection? Go there now.
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The Special Collections at
Wofford College are basically divided into two collections:
The college’s Special Collections and Rare Books, housed
mostly in the library’s special collection rooms in the basement, this group of
materials consists mainly of books, including a collection of 16th
and 17th century books, the book collections of founding and
prominent Wofford professors (such as James Carlisle and David Duncan Wallace),
an excellent collection of prints and fine book art by Leonard Baskin, the slide collection of late Wofford history professor and South Carolina historian Dr. Lewis P. Jones, local
history materials, and some maps, manuscripts, ephemera, and archives.
The Littlejohn Collection at Wofford College is a diverse
special collection that consists of historical manuscripts, archival
collections, archival ephemera, historical pamphlets, autographs and some
historical objects. The Collection also contains over one thousand books, some
of which are rare, while others complement materials in the Collection. The majority of the materials in the
Collection is concerned with or dates from the 19th-century American South -
with considerable concentration on the Civil War and Confederate eras - but the
breadth of the Collection reaches from the late colonial period through the end
of the 20th century. Historical figures and events originating in or concerned
with South Carolina are also well-represented within the Collection. The
Littlejohn Collection takes its name from Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr., from
whose personal collection this collection is taken. Mr. Littlejohn, a
Spartanburg native known to many as Dick, is a retired businessman,
philanthropist, and private collector of historical memorabilia.
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