Student's Personal Museum: USC Libraries Special Collections

USC students have had the benefits of studying so close to numerous history, science, and art museums. What many students do not realize is that we have our own special museum located right in Doheny Memorial Library.

Within USC libraries, students can find Special Collections, which is an archive of primary sources consisting of historical documents, books, newspaper clippings, and many more different types of materials. What also distinguishes Special Collections from normal museums is that students are allowed to touch and view the any and all of the resources they request.

The Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, found on the second floor of Doheny in room 209, is a part of Special Collections. Lion Feuchtwanger was a German exile writer and his personal library contained over 30,000 volumes with about 8,000 of the rarest books stored at USC. The library also includes Feuchtwanger’s own personal correspondences, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Many of the documents are in English, but there are also some written in German. Though most of us may not be able to read the German writings, they are still a wonder to look at.

The Cassady Lewis Carroll collection includes rare books, manuscripts, objects, and specifically Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland materials. It is the largest collection open to the general public. The materials included in the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland collection range from first edition books to Japanese manga.

This collection is stored in the reading room (pictured below). When students reserve the resources they would like to research and analyze, they are brought into the room to view them. Since the documents are fragile and valuable, students are only allowed to bring items such as laptops, pencils, and paper into the room. This policy is enforced with good reason as we would want to avoid damaging the collections with things such as accidental pen markings or water spills. Nevertheless, the staff is extremely accommodating and helpful towards all students who visit, so students should not feel intimidated by the policies enforced and precautions taken.

Special Collections also contains impressive items such as several editions of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. These books were obtained decades ago when Allan Hancock purchased the Boston Society of Natural History library in 1944. Though USC’s edition is not for sale, other editions of these books were last auctioned off for about $9 million dollars. Despite its value, everything in special collections including these books are available for students to view and even touch as they flip through the pages. In addition to the historical significance, all the birds pictured in these books are also hand-colored, life-sized, and just overall gorgeous.

Special Collections does not only contain books. It also has historical artifacts such as an Olympic Torch from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, as well as an unopened Coke bottle from the event. In addition to historical items, the facility is also collecting newer items, such as posters from the LA Women’s March, for future reference.

Students can request to view everything in Special Collections. At times, some materials may be temporarily unavailable as they are being digitized or loaned out to museums. Nonetheless, the items will eventually be returned and thus available for students again. Everyone in Special Collections is there to help and work with students both for class or personal research, so students should feel free to reach out to the team with any questions or concerns they may have.

Special thanks to Susan Luftschein (Head and Archival & Metadata Librarian) and Katherine Kapsidelis (Reference and Instruction Librarian) from Special Collections. For any questions, students can reach out to Susan Luftschein at luftsche@usc.edu and Katherine Kapsidelis at kapsidel@usc.edu.

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