Guide to Using UVA Special Collections

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HOURS, LOCATION, & RULES

Special Collections Hours:

• 9:00am to 9:00pm Monday through Thursday
• 9:00am to 5:00pm Friday and Saturday
• Special Collections is CLOSED on Sundays

Where is Special Collections located?

• On the first floor of the new Harrison Institute/Small Library--one floor below the entry level.

Some rules for using the collections:

• Lock up your belongings. Our lockers take a quarter but they give it back.
• You can take pencils, LOOSE paper, and laptop computers into the Reading Room. No notebooks, tablets, folders, or pens.
• We cannot make photocopies of documents for HIUS 323 class members. Digital cameras are welcome. For more information, see this powerpoint presentation (given Monday, Sept. 18).

SEARCHING FOR MATERIALS IN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

• Special Collections houses 307,000 rare books and 15 million manuscript items.
• You can search VIRGO before you arrive at Special Collections and bring in a list of items you would like to see. We have only four public terminals so searching beforehand will help with traffic flow.

REQUESTING MATERIALS IN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

• You can only request materials from the four computers in the reference room in Special Collections. Make sure that you click on the "Special Collections" icon on the desktop. This takes you to our Special Collections Webcat gateway. Search as you would in VIRGO. Hit show detail. Hit Request Item. Put in your social security number. Tell the desk attendant that you have put in a request.
• We ask that you submit up to five requests at one time. Once we retrieve these materials and you look through them, you can request another five items.
• You can stop by Special Collections to submit your requests and return later to look at them, once we have pulled the items.

USING PRIMARY DOCUMENTS

• Using primary documents can be frustrating at times and exhilarating at other times.
• Nineteenth-century handwriting can be very difficult to read. There are no transcripts for these documents. Sometimes as you read through the document a few times, you will pick up more of the words and more of the meaning.
• These are the original documents from the 19th century--not facsimiles. PLEASE HANDLE THESE DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY. They are fragile and require extra time for handling. Please maintain the original order of the collections.
• Working with primary documents takes more time than working with secondary sources. Budget your time so that you begin using Special Collections materials early.

CITATIONS FOR DOCUMENTS

• Making proper citations for documents that you consult is part of good research. Fellow researchers following in your footsteps and librarians appreciate good citations. Please spend time making sure that your citations are accurate.
• We have created event entry forms for each format. These provide examples of citations for that format. These event entry forms will be available shortly at the course website.

FORMS OF CITATION FOR ENTRIES IN THE SOUTHERN HISTORY DATABASE

Newspaper on Microfilm:
Raleigh Register, November 6, 1860.
(Micfilm N-US NC-1, Alderman Library, University of Virginia.)

Specific article in Microfilm newspaper:
"A Last Appeal," Raleigh Register, November 6, 1860, p.1.
(Micfilm N-US NC-1, Alderman Library, University of Virginia.)

Newspaper:
Daily Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia. June 12, 1863.
(Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

Law:
"An act prohibiting the transportation of slaves on rail-roads" (Chap. 117, March 25, 1837), Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1836/37, p. 101. (GA 5/AC8/836-37, Alderman Library, University of Virginia)

Government documents:
"Religion and Schools," Congressional Record 20, Pt. 1 (21 Dec. 1888) pp.433-434. (X:279, Alderman Library, University of Virginia.)

Message of President on rewards offered for arrest of assassins of Abraham Lincoln (House Ex. Doc. 63, 39-1) Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1866. (Serial Set 1332, Alderman Library, University of Virginia)

Broadside:
Democratic ticket: our principles, the constitution
Broadside 1860 .D457
(Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

Pamphlet or other printed material:
Townsend, John. The doom of slavery in the Union: its safety out of it. Charleston, S.C., Printed by Evans & Cogwell, 1860. E449 .T74 1860
(Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

Records of Southern Plantations on microfilm:
George Shelby to Emily Shelby, September 20, 1831, Shelby Papers, reel 1, Micflm 1705 ser.B, Frame 00123. (Alderman Library, University of Virginia.)

Manuscript collection:
Mss # 640, etc. Cocke Family Papers, Box 151, Note sheet for inventories. (Special Collections, University of Virginia)