Archives and research collections
Special Collections & Archives holds historical and literary archives with collection strengths that support research, teaching and learning at the University of Waterloo.
Search our collections
Descriptive information about archives and research collections held by Special Collections & Archives and the University of Waterloo Archives can be searched using the Archives Database.
New and revised descriptive records are frequently added to the Archives Database, but it is not a comprehensive list of SCA's holdings or records held as part of the University of Waterloo Archives. Please contact us for assistance finding items of interest.
View items online
A selection of items from Special Collections & Archives and the University of Waterloo Archives are available for viewing on the Waterloo Digital Library.
Rare books
Special Collections & Archives maintains a rare book and periodicals collection that is over 80,000 volumes strong. Complimenting and providing context for the department's archival collections, one of the collection's strengths is print history and material culture. The earliest printed item, part of a larger group of printing samples, dates from 1493 and the earliest codex, a core item in our collection of rare books on the history of math and computer science, dates from 1505. The Sol Eisen collection includes important early works of Canadiana, such as First Book for Children which is thought to be the only extant copy, and Nehiro-Iriniui Aiamihe Massinahigan important for being an early Canadian printed work and one of the few printed in Innu-aimun or Montagnais. More modern entries in the history of print culture include our Queer and Science Fiction pulp books, as well as our growing collection of local and international zines.
To find rare books:
- Enter your search terms into the Libraries' catalogue
- Select the “Dana Porter Library - Special Collections & Archives" facet, under Waterloo Library.