Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository

As a growing collection that includes materials on almost every subject taught at Flagler College, there is a great diversity of topic and format type included within the Rare Books unit of The Heritage Collections. At least 95% of the collection is searchable through the Discovery interface on the Proctor Library's homepage.

Large donations and notable collections are alphetically listed with a description below. To learn how to access any of these or other items, please refer to the Access box on the Home page for this collection.

For an overview of how items are added to the collection, please refer to the Collection Development & Donations box on the Home page for this collection.

Donated in 2020, this collection is in the process of being cataloged with over 1,400 books now available in either Rare Books or Special Reference. In addition, over 150 books have been added to the General Circulating collection. To find these books, please search “Gift of Mr. David C. Drysdale” through the Discovery interface on the Proctor Library's homepage. The vast majority of the books are about the European Theater of WWII, but there are books about all theaters of the war, plus biographies, autobiographies, and government documents/publications. The Holocaust is particularly well-covered by this collection.

This is the smallest named collection within Rare Books with just 22 items. In 2017, Doug Hart donated the Navy ship bulletins, 1945 west coast newspapers, and 1945 Yank Magazines his family had saved. The newspapers are from some of the most important 1945 dates in WWII history from Washington State, Hawaii, or California.

Although this collection includes only about 100 books, this collection has a strong emphasis on British Literature. A long-time professor of English at Flagler College, Dr. Dillon donated books to the Proctor Library over several decades (1990s-2010s). The books he donated that are now part of Rare Books include not only the two oldest books in the collection (16th century reprints of classical texts), but some of the rarer items in the Proctor Library.

Retired professor, Dr. Gregoire of the Education Department, collected road maps and saved road maps from family trips as a child. She donated her collection to Special Collections (now Rare Books) in December 2016. This collection includes 29 maps and only two are not of the Eastern or Midwestern sections of the United States.

This 247 piece collection is the second largest subject specific collection within Rare Books. This collection is formed of items from the private library of Dr. William J. McClure who ended a multi-decade career in deaf education as president of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. His private library was sold to Flagler College in the mid-1980’s. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Flagler College around this time as well. Prior to coming to FSDB he taught at Gallaudet and worked at Tennessee’s and Indiana’s school’s for the deaf and blind. Part of his collection was merged into the College’s deaf collection immediately and the rest was kept separate for several decades before being merged into Special Collections (now Rare Books) in 2014-2015.

Donated to Special Collections (now Rare Books) from 2017-2020, this private library represents a lifetime of collecting any and all books about the American Civil War, with a strong emphasis on the Confederacy. There are 205 books and 12 maps from the May 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania. The oldest book in this collection is an 1863 book about Stonewall Jackson. This collection includes fiction and non-fiction by both the best-known Civil War historians and more obscure authors. Considering this collection and the other Civil War books in Special Collections, this topic is now the third strongest research collection.

The Institutional Repository are books written by Flagler College faculty and staff. Donated and signed copies are preferred. If donating is impossible, we are happy to support you through purchasing a copy. Please fill out the form below and email or Inter-Campus Mail the form to the Special Collections Librarian.

**Articles and poems in magazines, literary journals, scientific journals, and e-books are not collected.**

**Alumni publications are accepted only after consulting with the Special Collections Librarian.**

The 87 books in this collection include five early-to late-20th century girls’ series books donated by Mrs. Miller’s granddaughter, a Flagler alum, Erin Miller, in 2018. Two of these series, Trixie Belden and Cherry Ames are nearly complete with a combination of true first editions and reprint copies. The other three series included in this donation are Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, and Vicki Barr and also include true or suspected first editions and reprint copies.

This collection includes 233 distinct titles spanning religion, history, medicine, children’s literature, and adult fiction. The donor of this collection gave her entire private library to the Proctor Library after Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. Part of the collection was added to the regular circulating collection, but the older, rarer, or more unique items were added to Special Collections (now Rare Books) in 2016-2017. The oldest item from this donation is the 1810 (1st American Edition) of The London Dissector. Mrs. Engelhardt’s collection was particularly strong in children’s literature, 20th century adult fiction, Napoleon, and the royal British family. The items merged into Rare Books represent these strengths.

The St. Augustine Fiction Collection is unique to Flagler College and focuses on novels and children’s books where the setting is partially or fully placed in St. Augustine or St. Johns County.

This collection of 73 titles was donated over a period of nine years (2013-2021). These are signed copies by authors invited by Drs. James "Jim" and Tamara Wilson to visit and speak to classes and the College community as part of the long running Writers-in-Residence program. Books in this collection are not Florida authors only, but authors from around the country. Most of the books are fiction, but a few are non-fiction books or poetry compilations.