Rare Books and Printed Materials
Special Collections contains over 10,000 volumes, ranging from fifteenth through twentieth century editions, and including early European, English, and American imprints, local and regional imprints, facsimiles, imited editions and examples of fine printing, bindings, and illustrations. The departmental reference collection also includes selected bibliographic tools and dictionaries.
Max Reinhardt Archives and Library
The William J. Haggerty Collection of French
Colonial History
The George Hinman Collection
The Archibald Howard Collection
The William Klenz Collection
The Herbert Reichner Collection
The William J. Haggerty Collection of French Colonial History
The Haggerty Collection consists of approximately 25,000 volumes from or pertaining to French and British colonies during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The materials were originally part of the research library of the Comité Central Francais pour l'Outre Mer, and were acquired by Binghamton after the Comité was disbanded in 1964. Until recently, use of this collection was severely limited by substandard cataloging and the fragility of many of the items. Grant-funded cataloging and preservation of the collection began in 1992, and the majority of the monographs are now cataloged online.
George Hinman Collection
The George Hinman Collection was bequeathed to the library by George Hinman, also a lawyer with the firm Hinman, Howard and Kattell. It consists of some 500 volumes, for the most part handsomely-bound collector's sets of major literary works. This collection has been cataloged online.
Archibald Howard Collection
The Archibald Howard Collection was donated to the library by Archibald Howard, a lawyer with the Binghamton law firm Hinman, Howard and Kattell, and by avocation a very knowledgeable bibliophile. His personal library contained some 3,000 volumes, including limited editions and collectors' printings, mainly in the areas of literature and history. One of the libraries' most valuable items, a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, was also part of the Howard donation. The Howard books have been cataloged online.
William Klenz Collection
The William Klenz collection was donated to the libraries by the family of William Klenz, a talented musician and long-time faculty member of the University's Department of Music. The collection includes approximately 20 linear feet of personal papers; Klenz's personal library of nearly 1,000 volumes reflecting his eclectic tastes in a wide variety of subjects, from cooking to art to philosophy; and over 1,000 musical scores and books of music ranging from folk music to concert performance scores of major composers. The entire collection has been cataloged online.
Herbert Reichner Collection
The Herbert Reichner Collection was originally part of the working reference library of the publisher Herbert Reichner. It contains approximately 3,000 volumes having to do with the history and practices of printing, publishing, and book collecting. The Reichner books have been cataloged online.