Special Collections and Area Studies

Photograph of Tamar Chute
Tamar Chute
University Archivist, Interim Associate Dean for Special Collections & Area
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The Special Collections and Area Studies division collaborates with a wide variety of partners to leverage University Libraries’ distinctive collections to advance research, teaching, and learning for the university community, scholars, and lifelong learners.

University Libraries faculty, staff, and students connect users with Libraries' international studies and special collections to advance interdisciplinary scholarship, transformative teaching, lifelong learning, and cultural programming and engagement.

View all members of Special Collections and Area Studies in the Staff Directory.


Special Collections

The distinctive and unique collections housed at University Libraries include medieval manuscripts, modern literature archives, printed books, art, pamphlets, photographs, periodicals, maps, original papers and much more in the following special collections:


Area Studies

University Libraries’ Area Studies offers materials about world regions in vernacular languages and in English. Our subject librarians and staff are fluent in more than 25 languages. These collections form the premiere international studies collection in the state of Ohio and include materials that support the work of the university’s international studies centers, as well as Ohio State’s languages, literatures, and cultures departments.

Area Studies expertise includes:

  • East Asian Studies including China, Japan, and Korea
  • Eastern European and Slavic Studies
  • Hebraica and Jewish Studies
  • Latin American Studies
  • Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies

Exhibition Program

University Libraries’ exhibition program introduces students, faculty, staff, and researchers to the Libraries’ distinctive collections in both digital and physical spaces.