The Special Collections Research Center, located on the fourth floor of the South wing, houses several specialized book collections. Not everything in Special Collections is listed in the online system. Please ask for additional assistance at the Special Collections Research Center, call us at (559) 278-2595 or e-mail a question to: scrc@mail.fresnostate.edu. Below is a brief description of each book collection.
The Roy J. Woodward Memorial Library of Californiana is a general California history collection with an emphasis on the City and County of Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. It also contains collections of historical pamphlets, newspaper clippings, maps, postcards and photographs. Access to the other materials is through in-house lists and card files.
The Donald G. Larson Collection on International Expositions and Fairs is a comprehensive collection on all world’s fairs between 1851 and 1940, with some deliberate exceptions. The collection includes not just books about the fairs but official materials produced for the fairs, photographs (official and personal), promotional items, ephemera and some souvenirs. Some of the books are listed in the online catalog and there is a card catalog of items in the department.
The Enology and Viticulture Collection is a collection on the history of wines, wine-making and grape cultivation worldwide, in all languages. It concentrates on pre-1940 works but also includes contemporary works with a historical treatment and some pamphlets.
The A. Wayne Colver Collection is a general rare books collection with an emphasis on examples of limited edition, fine press books as well as nineteenth-century travel narratives and rare or valuable Californiana. There is also a rare, historical pamphlet collection.
The William Saroyan Collection is a representative sample of Saroyan’s works in all languages . Also includes biographies and some manuscript materials by and about him. The preeminent Saroyan collection, including his personal papers, is housed at Stanford University.
The Madden Collection of German Travelers in California was former University Librarian Dr. Henry Miller Madden’s personal collection of books that describe early travel experiences of Germans in California. The books are largely in German.
The Krieger Collection is a book collection on railroad history and railroadiana, focusing primarily on North America.