Hoover Library and the McDaniel Archives Reading Room will be closing for construction from Monday, 12/16/24, reopening Tuesday, 1/21/25. The college archivist and all virtual resources and services will be available throughout the closure. For specific questions, contact Gwen Coddington. For information on holiday hours, please see our hours page.
All special collections are non-circulating, except those indicated. Please contact the Archivist to make an appointment to use any non-circulating collections.
For information about donating to special collections, please review our Special Collections Policy.
This collection contains books and periodicals contributed to, authored by, or edited by Alumni.
This collection contains books and pamphlets relating to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. The collection was given to the College by Gertrude Bish in memory of her husband, Dr. Charles Bish, Class of 1925. Dr. Bish began his collection of books, pamphlets, and realia in the 1950s and continued to improve it after his retirement. The collection contains many uncommon first editions, including a signed copy of the memoirs of President Ulysses S. Grant.
The Bothe Lecture Collection is composed of titles in Hoover Library's general collection relating to the invited speakers for the B. Christopher Bothe Memorial Lecture, which brings a visiting writer to campus for one day to meet with student writers in and out of class and give a public reading/lecture.
*CIRCULATING
A collection of thirty-two World War I propaganda posters including an original, "I Want You For U.S. Army."
A collection of antique books, containing works on topics such as history, literature, religion, the natural sciences, poetry, and military history.
This collection contains books contributed to, authored by, or edited by College Faculty. This collection is updated as faculty donate their publications.
In 2013, the Nora Roberts Foundation made possible the acquisition of the Gothic Romance Lending Library for McDaniel College. The Gothic Romance Lending Library (GRLL) was a collection of over 3,400 donated volumes, and their definition of a gothic romance is "a novel that contains romance, life-threatening suspense, and a puzzle or mystery."
*CIRCULATING
A collection of 11 books, nine of which were pulled from the circulating collection. Nine are written by H. L. Mencken and nine are signed by him.
The Holloway Lecture Collection is composed of titles in Hoover Library's general collection relating to the invited speakers for the Fred Garrigus Holloway Lecture, which honors the deep commitment of past College President Fred G. Holloway to the role of literature and poetry in the liberal arts.
*CIRCULATING
Two books and three articles concerning marine embryonic biology. All these books were in the library of Edwin G. Conklin, (1863-1952), American biologist whose study of cell lineage in in the early development of marine snails illustrated the cycloplasm in an egg was more organized and contributed much to the development of the organism.
Personal collection of Western Maryland College's first President, J.T. Ward. Ward donated over half his books to the College upon his death in 1897, roughly 3,000 volumes. The collection contains works on topics such as theology, literature, history, poetry, natural sciences, education, and philosophy.
A collection of 39 twentieth-century mystery novels, a gift of Mr. and Mrs. James MacCornack. This collection includes the work of authors John Dickson Carr, Erle Stanley Gardner, Agatha Christie, Carter Dickson, Stuart Palmer, Miles Burton, Margaret Millar, and Phoebe Atwood Taylor.
Life and death masks of famous and infamous persons and papers including, letters, photographs, and student research regarding the McComas Collection. The masks in this collection are believed to be casts from masks in the Lawrence Hutton Collection located at Princeton University.
In 2011, the Hoover Library Director, Jessame Ferguson, initiated the Hoover Library Student Art Collection. Each year, Hoover Library will purchase one piece of artwork from a McDaniel College Senior Art Major, and the artwork will be displayed in a public area of the library. This collection includes the artist's statement.
The Nora Roberts American Romance Collection, established in 2011 and housed in Hoover Library at McDaniel College, is comprised of novels written by important romance writers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The collection contains the complete works of Nora Roberts / J. D. Robb, RITA Award winning titles of American Romance, and selected works of other American Romance authors recommended by expert and scholar Dr. Pamela Regis. Generous gifts from the Nora Roberts Foundation established the collection and provided an endowment to fund the future acquisition of titles. Acquisition is ongoing, and new titles are added annually to the collection.
*CIRCULATING
The Rembert Lecture Collection is composed of titles in Hoover Library's general collection related to the invited speakers for the Rembert Lecture, an endowed annual lectureship in the economics established by Donald M. Rembert ('61).
*CIRCULATING
A collection of first edition books, periodicals, and memorabilia of the Beat Generation authors, mostly Jack Kerouac, donated by Keith Richwine, English professor at McDaniel College and his wife, Eleanor, from 1962-1994. Additions are added to this collection by the collection advisors on an irregular basis.
The Ridington Lecture Collection is composed of titles in Hoover Library's general collection relating to the invited speakers for the Ridington Lecture, an endowed annual lectureship at the College established by William R. and Edith F. Ridington.
*CIRCULATING
The China Pictorial was first published in 1950 to promote the achievements of the Central Government of the People's Republic of China through photojournalism and articles. McDaniel College Archives currently has issues spanning from 1950-1996, with the bulk of the collection covering the year 1971-1991.
A collection of 21 twentieth-century first edition literature donated to the college by Marion B. Stanton, Class of 1919. The collection includes works by Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway, Robinson Jeffers, Rockwell Kent, D. H. Lawrence, Sinclair Lewis, H. L. Mencken, Gertrude Stein, John Steinbeck, and Virginia Woolf.
A collection of antique books published in German, French, Latin, and Italian.
This collection contains ancient Egyptian figures (ushabti, mosaic, amulets, etc), Grecco-Roman terracottas and bronzes, Native American (Zuni, Navajo, Blackfoot, Papago) textiles, clothing, and dishes, and one suit of Edo Period Japanese Armor. Photographs, promotional material, and manuscripts related to the objects are also included. The items were donated to WMC by Westminster local Winter W. Myers upon his death in 1960.
The Archives, located on the second floor of Hoover Library at McDaniel College, is available by appointment only.
McDaniel College
2 College Hill, Westminster, MD 21157
Phone 410.857.2281
