August Wilson sitting on steps.

Archives & Special Collections

Archives & Special Collections now offers online registration!
Visit the A&SC Aeon Research Portal to create your account.
For more information check out Visiting Archives & Special Collections or the FAQ.

Welcome to Archives & Special Collections (A&SC), one of the largest archives that documents Western Pennsylvania history. In our collections, you’ll find historic documents, photographs, maps, rare books, newspapers, audio and video recordings, and much more. 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.

Browse Our Digital Collections Browse Our Finding Aids

Read about our efforts to address harmful, offensive, misrepresentative, and racist language in our archival collection descriptions.

Explore our collections further!

John James Audubon's plate of 2 purple herons.

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.

Map of Fort Pitt and parts adjacent with both rivers from 1761.

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.

Nearly 5,000 students assembled to form the Living Panther to show Pitt Spirit. April 1920

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!

A Conversation with Evan Laine on his Book: Arlen Specter: Scandals, Conspiracies, and Crisis in Focus
Arlen Specter Center, Paul J. Gutman Library and the University of Pittsburgh Library System present a Conversation with Evan Laine on his Book: Arlen Specter: Scandals, Conspiracies, and Crisis in Focus
This exhibition at the University Art Gallery explores the life and art of Andrey Avinoff (1884-1949), the émigré artist, scientist, professor, and museum director whose scholarly rigor and flamboyant creativity left an indelible mark on Pittsburgh’s cultural landscape. The exhibition will span displays at the University Art Gallery and the Hillman Library.

See... more
Freddie Fu
We are pleased to announce the acquisition of the papers of Dr. Freddie Fu, noted orthopaedic surgeon and a leader in the field of sports medicine.
Undergrads: Apply to be an Archival Scholar!
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!
Youthful Frights: Exploring George A. Romero’s Young Adult Horror
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.
August Wilson headshot
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.
Hi-ya Neighbor!
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

Check out our Horror Studies Blog!

University of Pittsburgh Library System - Horror Studies

View our blog and sign up for our monthly newsletter featuring Horror Collection updates, Romero news, horror events, and more!

Take a virtual tour of our new space!

Archives & Special Collections Virtual Tours

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!

Contact Us

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

Archives & Special Collections Facebook Archives and Manuscripts Tumblr Archives Instagram Rare Books Tumblr Archives Twitter

Spotlight on…

Woman wearing a shirt that says "Learn. Share. Transform."

Archives & Special Collections Graduate Student Assistants (GSA) are placed within the University Library System’s Archives & Special Collections (A&SC) during the fall and spring terms of an academic year. In this program, the GSA will gain experience in the skills of an archivist, rare book librarian, or curator of distinctive collections through project-based work and make a public presentation of their work.

We are now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 term.


The banner features an image from the August Wilson Archive.