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.
Among the many items available in the KU Digital Collections and the KU Luna Insight image collections are several from Spencer Research Library.
Image Collections
- Central American Broadsides
- John Gould Ornithological Collection
- Kansas Collection Photographs
- Kansas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
- Leon K. Hughes Photography Collection
- Pennell Photography Collection
- Rossetti Family Collection
- University Archives
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Lawrence, 1883
Other Digital Projects
- Digital Scriptorium
The University of Kansas Libraries are a contributing partner to the Digital Scriptorium, a growing image database of medieval and renaissance manuscripts from many institutions serving as an international tool for teaching and scholarly research.
- Jesuatti Book of Remedies
The Jesuatti Book of Remedies holds medical remedies used by the friars of the Order of Saint Jerome to cure the sick and care for the body in and before the 16th century. This digital edition permits users to search the full English-language text and view page scans.
- Territorial Kansas Online
The Kansas Collection and the Kansas Historical Society's vivid illustration of the time period 1854 to January 1861, when Kansas entered the Union.
Records for the majority of Spencer Research Library’s holdings can be found in the University’s online catalog. Key word searches in the online catalog can be limited to just the materials in Spencer Research Library:
- From the KU Library Catalog, click on the “Set Other Search Limits” button in the bottom right corner of the Simple Search tab
- In the Location: box, scroll down to Spencer Research Library (Kansas Coll. and Spencer Coll.) and click the text to highlight it
- Click on the Set Limits button located at the top or bottom of the Search Limits box
- From the Simple Search screen, choose either “Keyword “or “AND, OR, NOT (Keyword Boolean)” in the Search By: drop down menu. [Note that search limits only work when doing a Keyword or an AND, OR, NOT (Keyword Boolean) search]
- Type in your search term or phrase then click on the Search button. Your search results will be limited to materials held in the Spencer Research Library.
