Special Collections exists to provide Jacksonville University students with educational, informational literacy, and professional development opportunities through exposure to rare, historical materials and discovery resources.
Special Collections collaborates with Jacksonville University and local community partners to offer engaging, multimodal opportunities with rare, historical materials to enhance academic success. Special Collections is committed to ethically stewarding Jacksonville University, state of Florida, and topical history collections that preserve the stories of those who have impacted the Jacksonville University community or those who have left our pod in the service of others. Special Collections strives to highlight collections that foster a sense of belonging, well-being, growth-mindset, and service leadership within the Jacksonville University community.
We believe that internal transparency about collection holdings, informational content, and access procedures fosters trust and respect for information resources as well as for the individuals, communities, and lived experiences represented in those records.
We believe that information resources become more meaningful when shared with and used to benefit a community. All information has potential energy.
We believe that intellectual curiosity is nurtured into life-long learning through practice and hands-on interaction with unique, topical and historical materials.
We believe that access to rare materials provides students with real-world opportunities to critically interrogate and apply curricular concepts outside the classroom—allowing them to develop deeper meanings of essential concepts and interdisciplinary methodologies.
We believe that historical records and their active use within our local community enriches the heart of Jacksonville University and the student experience.
We believe that internal transparency about collection holdings, informational content, and access procedures fosters trust and respect for information resources as well as for the individuals, communities, and lived experiences represented in those records.
Special Collections envisions itself as a dynamic and interactive hub that fosters student engagement with historical, institutional, and topical collections. Special Collections aims to be a key partner in curriculum enhancement and development, working alongside Swisher Library to offer dedicated programming for archival discovery and research assistance, as well as becoming a trusted steward for institutional information retention.