Rare and Special Book Collections

• The East Asia Collection: The East Asia Collection is a library of over 90,000 catalogued books, reference materials, and periodicals written in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The holdings are strong in the humanities and social sciences and particularly emphasize the history and literature of East Asia. Over 800 periodical titles and more than 300 yearbooks and annual reports are currently received. In addition, the collection also contains over 1,000 volumes of Western-language reference works.


• The Maryland Collection: The Maryland Collection represents a variety of materials, including more than 60,000 books and periodicals about Maryland, current and historical. The Baltimore News American Photograph Collection is also found in the Maryland Collection, as are many Maryland newspapers.


• National Trust for Historic Preservation Library Collection: Established in 1986 on the campus of the University of Maryland, the National Trust for Historic Preservation Library Collection (NTL) was begun by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1949. Over the years, however, the collection outgrew its space at the Trust's Washington, D.C., offices. Donated to the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1986, NTL is fully supported by the University Libraries and has been enlarged and enhanced significantly in its campus setting.


• The Gordon W. Prange Collection: The Gordon W. Prange Collection is the most comprehensive collection in the world of print publications issued in Japan during the immediate post-World War II years, 1945-1949. The Collection comprises virtually everything published on all subjects during this period: books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, news agency photographs, posters, maps, and related archival materials.


• The Rare Books Collection: The Rare Books Collection contains books and pamphlets dating from the 15th century to the 20th century. Approximately 50,000 volumes represent a wide range of subjects in all areas of the humanities and sciences.


• S. L. and Eileen Shneiderman Collection of Yiddish Books: In 1996, the celebrated Yiddishist - journalist, poet, essayist - S. L. Shneiderman, passed away, leaving behind a Collection of 395 Yiddish books, nearly half of which bear the autographs of prominent Yiddish writers from Russia and France, Israel, Canada, and the United States. His wife, collaborator, and inspiration, Eileen Shneiderman, graciously donated this collection to the University of Maryland Libraries in November 1996.