Providence boasts over a dozen Special Collections libraries, so classified because of their unique research holdings. These institutions collect and preserve rare, unique, and primary source research materials.
The earliest Special Collection was created in 1836 from the combined libraries of the Providence Library Company (est. 1753) and the Providence Athenaeum (est. 1831) when they merged their two collections and archives to form the current Providence Athenaeum.
The Providence Public Library acquired its first special collection, the C. Fiske Harris Collection on the Civil War and Slavery, in 1884; the special collection at Providence College was established in 1967; Rhode Island College’s special collection began in 1974; and in 1979, a donation of rare cookbooks to Johnson & Wales University formed their special collection.
Today, the collection of printed materials pertaining to the entire Western Hemisphere during the colonial period housed at the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University is considered the finest in the world, while the Rhode Island Historical Society’s Robinson Research Center is home to the second largest genealogical collection in New England.
Many of the materials, including manuscripts, maps, and books are now available digitally online. Although most of the libraries are open to the public (check hours and policies), all require an appointment prior to research.
3 substantial 19th century Providence gentlemen’s libraries, including John Russell Bartlett (1805-1886), Holder Borden Bowen (1844-1912), and Joseph J. Cooke (1813-1881) [Providence Athenaeum, Special Collections]
4 million feet of amateur, feature and news film, and sound recordings [Rhode Island Historical Society, Robinson Research Center]
45 volumes remaining from the holdings of the Providence Library Company in the Founders Collection (1753-1758) [Providence Athenaeum, Special Collections]
500 volumes in the Lowthorpe Collection of Landscape Architecture [Rhode Island School of Design, Fleet Library]
800 logbooks documenting over 1,000 whaling voyages in the 19th century assembled and donated by Paul C. Nicholson in 1956 [Providence Public Library, Special Collections]
1,200 books, pamphlets, and periodicals on magic donated by local magician, John H. Percival in 1970. A few of the books, including ones by Blackstone and Houdini, are inscribed to Mr. Percival [Providence Public Library, Special Collections]
1,850 early children’s books in 20 languages donated in the 1950s by Edith Wetmore of Newport. Among the highlights is the rare first edition, first issue of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit [Providence Public Library, Special Collections]
2,000+ items in poster collection, including the history of the poster in Poland [Rhode Island School of Design, Fleet Library]
4,000+ photographs documenting important black social and political events [Rhode Island Black Heritage Society]
30,000+ cookbooks [Johnson & Wales University Library]
75,000 books, maps and images accessible online [Brown University, John Carter Brown Library]
500,000 pieces in the John E. Fogarty (1913-1967) collection: the papers range from c.1941 to 1967 and contain personal and legislative correspondence, speeches, legislative records, photographs, and audiovisual materials [Providence College, Phillips Memorial Library Special Collections]
2,000,000 manuscripts, broadsides, prints, maps, photographs, and sheet music [Brown University, John Hay Library]
1867-2024 years represented in the Rhode Island Government Manuals [Rhode Island State Library]
1931-1985 years of the records of the Providence Medical Association Milk Commission [Brown University, John Hay Library]
1965-1975 years covered by the papers in opposition to school busing in Providence [Rhode Island College, Adams Library, Special Collections]
Special Collections Libraries listed above:
Brown University, John Carter Brown Library – 94 George Street
Brown University, John Hay Library – 20 Prospect Street
Johnson & Wales University, Culinary Archives and Museum -321 Harborside Boulevard
Providence Athenaeum, Special Collections – 251 Benefit Street
Providence College, Phillips Memorial Library Special Collections -1 Cunningham Square
Providence Public Library, Special Collections Department -150 Empire Street
Rhode Island Black Heritage Society
Rhode Island College, Adams Library, Special Collections – 600 Mt. Pleasant Avenue
Rhode Island Historical Society, Robinson Research Center -121 Hope Street
Rhode Island School for Design, Fleet Library -15 Westminster Street
Rhode Island State Library – 82 Smith Street
Source:
Rhode Island Special Collections, A Brief Guide. Pamphlet funded by the RI Committee for the Humanities, no date
Nini Stoddard is a proud Providence resident. After living abroad as the child of a US diplomat, she returned to the United States to attend college. She lived in Connecticut and enjoyed working as a librarian, as a director of a regional non-profit, and as a prospect researcher. Nini moved to Providence in 2006 to work at Brown University as a senior prospect researcher. Now retired, she loves local history and volunteering.
