Research in Special Collections

Finding materials

Research looking at a book in a book cradle

Use the resources below to search for materials held in the Special Collections department.

  • Library Catalog (catalogusmai): the main Library catalog contains records for the books, serials, theses and dissertations held in Special Collections. Use the “Named Collection” menu to narrow your results to a specific topic or format, for example Bafford (Photography books and serials).
  • Special Collections Search: this catalog searches only materials held in the Special Collections department, including photographs; archival collections; comics, fanzines, and pulps; and UMBC publications.
  • UMBC Digital Collections: a selection of digitized and born digital items from Special Collections. Highlights include the Lewis Hine child labor photographs, Hughes Company glass negatives collection, UMBC photographs and publications, and the Joseph L. Arnold manuscript, “History of Baltimore: 1729-1920.”
  • Browse all finding aids
  • Browse by subjects and material format

Video Tutorials

Research guides

Getting started

By topic