We’ve digitized thousands of records from our collections, and you can see them all here! Search our Audubon prints, get acquainted with the City Photographer Collection, or just peruse the collection guides for our materials.
Due to construction work, the Hillman Reading Room will be closed from April 25-May 10.
Some collections will be temporarily inaccessible, so please reach out to us in advance if you are interested in researching with us during this time period. Thank you for your understanding.
Welcome to Archives & Special Collections (A&SC), the archives, manuscripts, and rare books department of the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS)! Our mission is to collect, describe, and preserve our ever-growing collections in order to make them available and accessible to the Pitt community and beyond. In our collections, you’ll find historic documents, photographs, maps, rare books, newspapers, audio and video recordings, and much more.
Visit the A&SC Aeon Research Portal to create a user account so you can start requesting materials!
Using the Search Box below you can explore different areas of our collections.
Interested in the history of Pitt or archival and manuscript collections? Choose Finding Aids to Archives and Manuscripts from the drop-down menu to search the collections. In addition to documenting the history of Pitt in the University Archives, A&SC is also one of the largest archives of Western Pennsylvania history. Our manuscript collections include (but are very much not limited to) the papers of Pitt faculty, local authors, and genre defining creators.
More of a book person? A&SC houses over 130,000 rare books and printed materials that include 16th century illuminated books, 20th century underground zines, children’s books through the ages, and an abundance of horror. Choose the Rare Books and Special Collections in Pittcat option from the drop-down menu to search for rare and special books.
Digitization occurs across all areas of A&SC. To search what we’ve digitized, choose ULS Digital Collections from the drop-down menu.
Read about our efforts to address harmful, offensive, misrepresentative, and racist language in our archival collection descriptions.
Do you have questions or can’t find what you’re looking for? Please contact us so one of our expert staff members can help you.
 We’ve digitized thousands of records from our collections, and you can see them all here! Search our Audubon prints, get acquainted with the City Photographer Collection, or just peruse the collection guides for our materials. |
 Interested in more Pittsburgh history? We work in partnership with other organizations in the area, like the Heinz History Center, to bring you more content on our city. Search by institution, topic, or format to find exactly what you want. |
 Want to know what the Cathedral of Learning looked like while under construction? Maybe find yourself in your college yearbook? Or learn what Pitt students were talking about in the 1920s? It’s all here for you, from digitized yearbooks to historic photographs to a full run of the Pitt News, and much more. Hail to Pitt! |
 Awardees will develop independent research projects from rare books, manuscripts, music, photographs, diaries, organization records, or other archival collections found in the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s distinctive collections. Click here for more info! |
 In the mid-90s, Romero began production on several projects for young adult audiences. Join us! Tuesday September 20th 7 p.m. as we examine and explore these lost projects including an adaptation of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. |
 We are pleased to announce we have received a $1,000,000 grant from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation to support in-depth public engagement with the August Wilson Archive over the next two years. |
 The University of Pittsburgh Library System strives to steward the materials within our possession with the highest level of cultural sensitivity. Within Archives & Special Collections, we aim to describe our archival materials in a way that is respectful to, and informed by, the communities who use, create, and are represented in our collections. ...more |
 The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Recordings at Risk program has awarded a $36,826 grant to the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) to digitize five Pittsburgh area oral history collections held by the Archives and Special Collections Department. |
 Want to Develop New Skills and Competencies? Check Out Our Available Assistantships! |
 The Blue, Gold and Black Digital Archive is a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh Library System and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to collect and share materials that reflect the incredible variety of experiences and memories of Black students, faculty, and staff at Pitt. If you are a current or former member of the Pitt community, we encourage you to share YOUR stories and photos! |
View our blog and sign up for our monthly newsletter featuring Horror Collection updates, Romero news, horror events, and more!
Archives & Special Collections resides in a state-of-the-art home on Hillman Library’s renovated third floor. It contains significant physical and digital exhibition space, an expansive reading room, a large classroom, and, the Text & conText Lab, a partnership between the ULS and the Center for Creativity, that allows for the exploration of text in all its forms.
Visit in person during library open hours or take a virtual tour!
Send us an email
Archives & Special Collections (A&SC) - Who We Are
A&SC at Hillman Library
320 Hillman Library
University of Pittsburgh
3960 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412-648-8190
A&SC at the Archives Service Center
7500 Thomas Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
412-648-3232
The banner features an image from the August Wilson Archive.
