The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in George Mason University Libraries serves the scholarly community and beyond. While our services are used mainly by students and faculty, we are open to the public for research or for personal interest. The SCRC staff is dedicated to preserving, organizing, and collecting various objects, books, and manuscripts.
Members of the SCRC staff include:
- Head of Special Collections
- Research Services Coordinator
- University Records Manager
- Records Management Specialist
- Manuscripts & Archives Librarian
- Processing Coordinator
- Digital Collection and Exhibitions Archivist
- and various student wage and Graduate Research Assistants
SCRC contact information can be found here.
Our collections are searchable online through our finding aids and library catalog.
From our home page, sca.gmu.edu, our finding aids are searchable by subject or alphabetical order. The finding aids are useful for browsing our manuscripts and mixed materials such as oral histories.
SCRC maintains a collection of rare and antiquarian books. The oldest volume dates from the early 1500’s. To search our rare book and artist book holdings from the home page, click the catalog tab in the search box and enter search terms. For a more specific search limited to holdings in SCRC, click the “classic catalog” option and then hit the “set limits” button on the right of the page and scroll until you find “Fenwick Special Collections” in the locations section. Hit set limits again, and then begin your search. More information about our rare books can be found on our infoguides page. A small sampling of items found in SCRC includes:
Poe,Edgar Allan, The Raven, PS2609 .A1 1884, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Northern Virginia Oral History Project Collection, #C0030, Box 5, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Mason Family Manuscript Account Book, #C0214, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Langerman, Elaine, The Fairy Tale , N7433.4.L36 F35 1993, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Appianus of Alexandria, Historia Romana, PA3873 .A2 1592, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Froissart, Jean, Chronicles of England, France, Spain, and the Adjoining Countries, D113 .F7 1843, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Congress, Committee on Un-American Activities, KF27.3.U53 H43 1962 V.1, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
“The Dawn of a Better Day,” 19th Century Civil War and Political Cartoon Lithograph, #C0285, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
For more information about SCRC, our collections or to schedule an appointment, email us at speccoll.gmu.edu.
