About
The Arts and Special Collections Research Center is an integrated unit that supports the research and teaching goals of Baylor University through outreach, education, curating, preserving, providing access to collections, and teaching how to successfully engage with these creative and unique collections. Art, music, theater, and special collections in all disciplines are the areas of collections and services brought together on the 3rd floor of Moody Memorial Library.
Creating Together
The Arts and Special Collections Research Center is proud of our collaborations with the School of Music and the Departments of Art and Theatre. With the increase in interdisciplinary research, and the broad range of special collections topics, we welcome all faculty partners to the Center. Together we create innovative research, new scholarship, images, sounds, and countless designs, all building toward success for our students and the broader research community.
The Libraries offer a Special Collections Teaching Fellowship to encourage use of primary sources in the classroom. Learn more about our teaching fellowship.
Education and Outreach
The core of our mission is to support our students, faculty, and researchers. These collections are meant to be shared and our staff are ready to help. Whether you are a class from K-12 schools or classes here on campus, we can tailor a session for your needs. If you are a community group or would simple like a tour, we can assist in making your visit memorable. Please contact our Visit page for more information.
For additional information, check out our FAQs and Glossary.
General Collections
The Arts and Special Collections Research Center general collections include music, visual arts, books, journals, and media collections.
Recognized as one of the most distinguished fine arts collections in the Southwest, the Center boasts a collection of approximately 116,000 printed music scores, 54,000 print fine arts books, and 75,000 audio and video recordings. In addition to these print resources, the libraries host thousands of e-books and e-journals, and over 800 databases.
Special Collections
For more about our Special Collections, click here.
Spaces
For more information about the Center’s spaces, click here.
Collections Care and Preservation
The Center is responsible for preservation, repair, and housing for the University Libraries. In addition, personnel oversee the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, and security) of the collections housed in Moody Library. For education and outreach, we partner annually with our county library system for national Preservation Week, offering training to the community on caring for their cultural heritage objects. Throughout the year, staff are available to assist with how to care for collections.
Donations
Financial support is critical for the Baylor Libraries to accomplish its mission to support excellence in teaching and learning, enhance research and discovery and foster scholarship and academic success.
Please contact Beth Farwell (254-710-3679, beth_farwell@baylor.edu) if you are interested in supporting the libraries!
Gifts-in-Kind
Moody and Jones Libraries are no longer able to accept gifts of books, recordings, and other materials, due to space constraints and the high cost of processing donated materials.
- Other options include contacting your local public libraries or other charitable organizations such as Better World Books (http://www.betterworldbooks.com/).
- Moody and Jones Libraries will accept rare or unique materials that library administration believes will enhance appropriate areas of our collections.
Please contact Beth Farwell if you have any questions regarding donations (254-710-3679, beth_farwell@baylor.edu ).
Learn More
Keep up with news and updates on the Connect with Arts and Special Collections Research Center Blog