Collections

The Kenneth Spencer Research Library is home to books, manuscripts, photographs and materials in many subject areas, including the Kansas Collection, Special Collections and the University Archives.

The Kansas Collection is the regional history division of the University of Kansas Libraries. The Collection provides researchers with primary source materials that document the history of Kansas and the region.

Special Collections contains a wide range of rare books and manuscripts. Its primary charge is the collection and preservation of original sources for use by students and scholars of the humanities, of the history of science, and of the history of the book.

University Archives, established in 1969, is the repository for the records documenting the history of the University of Kansas.

Digital Collections

Among the collections available in the KU Digital Collections are many from Spencer Research Library.

• Central American Broadsides
• Digital Scriptorium
• Endacott Society Oral History Collection
• Jesuatti Book of Remedies
• John Gould Ornithological Collection
• Joseph Pennell Photography Collection
• Kansas Collection Photographs
• Kansas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
• Leon K. Hughes Photography Collection
• Mediterranean Travel and Trade, 1300-1800
• Phog Allen Papers
• Robert B. Riss Collection
• Rossetti Family Collection
• Territorial Kansas Online
• University Archives Photographs
• University Archives Videos
• University of Kansas Web Archives
• World War II: The African American Experience

Finding Aids

KU Libraries provide access to a growing number of finding aids from Spencer Research Library. These inventories reveal the wide variety of materials found in manuscript collections, including photographs, correspondences, printed material, diaries and drawings.

KU Libraries Catalog

You can find information about the majority of Spencer Research Library’s holdings by searching the KU Libraries online catalog. Follow these steps to limit your search results to just the materials in Spencer Research Library:

1. Go to the KU Libraries online catalog and click on "Advanced Search" to the right of the search box. If you're starting on the homepage of the Libraries website, you can get to the online catalog by clicking on “Advanced Search” under the main search box.
2. At the top of the screen, find “Search for” and select “Books and more.”
3. Enter your search term(s) and click on “Search.”
4. From the results, find “Tweak my results” on the right. Scroll down to the “KU Libraries” section and select Spencer.
5. The default setting in the catalog is to sort results by relevance. Consider re-sorting your results in chronological order by clicking on the "Sort by" drop-down menu under "Tweak my results." This would, for example, bring primary sources about the American Civil War (written during and just after the conflict) to the beginning of your results list and secondary sources (written after the conflict up to the present) to the end of the results list.
6. Click on an item's title to see the catalog record, which contains more information about that particular resource.