Special Collections holds some 200,000 volumes of books, journals and pamphlets, as well as archival material, that have been placed on 'closed access' by reason of their age, value or uniqueness in order to ensure their long-term care and preservation for future generations of scholars and researchers.
Special Collections material that has been catalogued since 1980 is catalogued on the Library's online catalogue; however, some material catalogued before 1980 may only be accessed on the card catalogue located on the ground floor of the Baillieu Library. A certain proportion of material, such as the archival collections, does not appear on the main Library catalogue but can be located through specialised lists and databases.
Rare French Volumes Acquired by Baillieu Library
An extemely rare French two-volume set has been acquired for Special Collections. The Ordonnances consulaires pour les echelles du Levant et de Barbarie, couvrant la période 1681-1854 includes otherwise inaccessible material on the French Revolution’s impact upon the Muslim world, showing how revolutionary policy was translated outside Europe to the communities of Istanbul, Smyrna, Aleppo and elsewhere. In addition, it contains a great deal of important material on trade and military matters, which can help to illuminate the transformation of world trade at the end of the eighteenth century and the move toward European military hegemony during this period.
Cambridge Collected: The Pierre Gorman Story
A Special Collections exhibition featuring the Cambridge Collection of Dr Pierre Gorman in the Leigh Scott Gallery, first floor, Baillieu Library from 20 March to 30 May 2008.
Archive of Laser, Sound and Image Artist JS Ostoja-Kotkowski Inscribed on UNESCO Memory of the World Register
The archives of one of the world’s earliest artists to work with laser, sound and image production - Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski – and which are partly kept in the University of Melbourne’s Special Collections, have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World register for Australia.
See: Katherine Smith, 'UNESCO Memory of the World registers Melbourne art archives', The Voice, vol. 2, no. 4, 17 March-14 April 2008, p. 4.
New Acquisition: Lonely Planet Collection
Special Collections has recently acquired a complete set of Lonely Planet travel publications from 1973 to 2006, some 1,300 volumes in all.