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The Department of Special Collections in the Connelly Library houses a diverse range of materials, from 15th-century illuminated devotionals to subject collections treating contemporary social issues. Bodies of work include literature, music, films, art, archival material, and ephemera. Our collections explore a variety of themes in aural, narrative, and illustrative forms. Special Collections maintains a focus on acquiring, cataloging, and housing unique material that is tied to pedagogy and is freely available to researchers. We are a proud member of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries.
Visit
The Department of Special Collections is located on the second floor of Connelly Library and is open to the La Salle University community and external researchers. We provide one-on-one research assistance to our visitors. Please contact Connelly Library Reference to set up a research appointment.
Teaching and Learning
Special Collection's unique or rare historic material has been leveraged to facilitate active learning experiences in an array of La Salle undergraduate and graduate courses, from science to literature courses. Special Collections staff collaborate with faculty to provide orientations to the collections, as well as hands-on learning activities to engage students in critical thinking. Please contact Connelly Library Reference to learn more about Special Collections teaching and learning opportunities for your courses.
Copying and Digital Reproductions
To obtain copies (digital or hardcopy) of Special Collections material for educational or research purposes, please email: Connelly Library Reference
Reproductions of certain material may be prohibited because of restrictions imposed by donors, physical condition, or copyright status.
Those wishing to publish content contained in La Salle’s Special Collections should contact the Special Collections Librarian for further information and permission. Publishing of certain material may be prohibited because of restrictions imposed by donors or copyright status.
On-site researchers may take photographs of Special Collections material for educational or research purposes with the permission of the Special Collections Librarian.
Collection Highlights
Devotion: An Iconography of the Life of Jesus
This exhibition presents a study of illustrations from the Connelly Library’s collection of rare Bibles and prayer books.
Philadelphia in the Civil War
This exhibition features historic images of the sites and citizens of Philadelphia during the period of the Civil War, with specific focus on the individuals who lived on the land where La Salle University now stands.
Jane Irish: War Is Not What You Think
Irish has been drawing visual inspiration and historical research contexts the Imaginative Representations of the Vietnam War Collection for the past 10 years.
Vietnam Generation Online
Published between 1989 and 1996, Vietnam Generation served as a premier source of essays, artwork, poetry and other materials for the field of Vietnam War studies.
Susan Dunleavy Collection of Biblical Literature Online
View rare bibles and prayer books from the Library's collection online through our partnership with Villanova.
