Special Collections: Home

Our collections are open to everyone, including students, faculty, researchers and the general public.

Readers are welcome to drop in during regular hours. (If you don't see me, try knocking on the door; I might be back among the shelves.) You can also contact me to schedule an appointment. I am always happy to answer questions or to help you locate items in the collection.

Readers are asked to leave coats, bags and other books in the outer room. Laptops and pencils are permitted in the reading room.

Special Collections includes three distinct collections:

• Rare Books - The Rare Books collection includes over 6,000 items related to Lutheran theology and church history, most published before 1800. These include early editions of the Church Fathers and important works by Luther and other leaders of the Reformation.
• Library Archives - The Archives include copies of works published by members of the Concordia Seminary faculty, publications related to the history of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and student theses.
• Center for Reformation Research - The Center for Reformation Research (CRR) holds a large collection of works on microfilm, including a complete copy of the Philip of Hesse archive. It also includes a large number of published primary, secondary and reference sources to support research in Reformation history.

Nearly everything in the collection can be found by searching the Library Catalog.

Please contact me for more information about the collection, or for help in finding things.