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Monday 9am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 4pm Thursday 9am - 4pm Friday 9am - 4pm

University of Miami Special Collections

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Coral Gables, FL
University of Miami Special Collections

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Special Collections is located on the 8th floor of the Richter Library.

We provide access to rare and unique scholarly resources including books, manuscripts, maps and photographs. Special Collections is located in the Kislak Center on the 1st Floor of the Richter Library.

09/01/2026

Join us remotely on Thursday, September 10 at 1:00pm Eastern!

Special Collections at the University of Miami Libraries cordially invites you to this year's Dave Abrams and Gene Banning Pan Am Research Grant Presentation by Israel A. Ogundumila, PhD Candidate at the University of Kansas, entitled "Sovereignty in the Skies: Nigeria Airways and the Struggle for Technological Autonomy After Independence.

Funded by the Pan Am Historical Foundation, the generous Abrams Banning grant facilitates researchers' travel to access the Pan American World Airways, Inc. Records and related collections housed in Special Collections and accessible to the public by research appointment in the Kislak Center Reading Room.

Ogundumila will present on his research findings as this year's grant winner and discuss the ways the grant and collection have contributed to his scholarly pursuits. Special Collections Librarian Robin Potter will moderate and facilitate the Q&A with the online audience after the presentation.

Register for free at the link in our bio!

06/30/2026

We are happy to announce that this year's call for applicants for the Dave Abrams and Gene Banning Pan Am Research Grant competition is now open from June 25-August 25!

Generously funded (for seventeen years and running!) by the Pan Am Historical Society, this grant offers researchers the opportunity to travel to Miami and do in-depth research with the Pan Am archives. This opportunity is open to researchers across disciples and affiliations.

The winner is selected each year by a committee of librarians from the UM Libraries and representatives from the Pan Am Historical Society. You may feel free to reach out to Special Collections Librarian Robin Potter with any questions at [email protected].

Find more info at the link in our bio!

(The images shown are travel itineraries from some of the Pan Am materials available in our digital collections.)

06/03/2026

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to our open house yesterday evening, and for your careful page turning and thoughtful questions and ideas. It was lovely to see so much enthusiasm! This was a truly collaborative event, and all the staff and faculty in the Kislak Center were proud to share some of our favorite items and give you a glimpse of the amazing range of collections we care for. We will definitely do another open house in the near future!

If you missed this event and would like to come see us and view the galleries, we are open to the public 9-4, Monday through Friday. If you would like to sit in the reading room with these or other items (or ask us to make suggestions based on your interests), this is also open to the public and we encourage you to send us an email about a week ahead of your visit at [email protected]

05/19/2026

If you'll be in Miami in early June, and you're looking for a break from the sun, heat and storms, stop by the Kislak Center on Tuesday, June 2 from 5-7 for our end of year Open House!

Take a summer break on campus with the faculty and staff of the Kislak Center at the University of Miami. The University Libraries' home of Special Collections and University Archives at the Otto G. Richter Library.

Join us in the Kislak Center Reading Room, where we will showcase a selection of rare and unique treasures from our holdings. Special Collections Coordinator Robin Potter will lead a presentation of our "staff pics"-- favorite hand-selected items-- from our wide ranging collections focused on the history of Miami, the region, and beyond!Our team will be available to answer any questions you may have about our resources and services and we will provide small snacks and beverages in the foyer afterwards.

Whether you're a returning visitor or discovering us for the first time, we look forward to sharing these marvelous materials with you!

04/07/2026

We had a blast at this year's ! Special Collections Coordinator Robin Potter brought a small selection of zines across a few of our zine collections: (Latin American & Caribbean, Firefly Miami, Reggae Fanzines, and some classic early examples such as Punk! And Search and Destroy). It was amazing to connect with so many creative people and be a part of this tradition again! Zines that many of you donated (thank you!) will be added to the archival finding aid by title, link in bio.

02/10/2026

New acquisition alert! A set of tintypes of Latin American sitters (locations unspecified), c. 1870s-1880s. "A collection of tintypes from the late nineteenth century. Tintype photography was quite uncommon in Latin America during the period, with photography dominated by the albumen, silver, and printing-out processes of the major urban studios." -description from Auger Down Books

These are intriguing and mysterious images of locals, perhaps not all from one location in Latin America, though it looks like the first two images were taken in front of the same backdrop. In general, tintypes were inexpensive compared to earlier glass plate processes, which meant that a wider variety of people could afford to sit for a portrait. They were cherished objects, cut to place into frames and albums, but the metallic substrate also rusted, corroded, and scratched easily, resulting in the lines and cracks seen in these images. It's a fascinating glimpse into the past, and perhaps some intrepid researcher will help us discover more about these individuals! Do you recognize anyone?

02/09/2026

We very much enjoyed welcoming Israel Ayobami Ogundumila to the Kislak Center a couple weeks back, as our newest Abrams-Banning Pan Am Travel Grant winner. A current PhD candidate at the University of Kansas, Israel focused his time here on researching Pan Am's role within the history of aviation in mid-twentieth century West Africa. Israel will be returning virtually to present about his work and his findings in the near future. Stay tuned for more info soon!

Pictured here with Professor Edmund Abaka, PhD, Associate Director of the Center for Global Black Studies and with Bea Skokan, Head of Manuscripts and Archives Management and Africana Studies Liaison, as well as Special Collections Librarian Robin Potter, and Kislak Chair & Curator Daniel Arbino, PhD.

01/27/2026

Join the inaugural research fellow of the Jay I. Kislak Collection, Robert C. Schwaller, for an online showcase and presentation moderated by Jay I. Kislak Chair and Curator Daniel Arbino.

Robert C. Schwaller, Ph.D. is Professor of Latin American History at the University of Kansas. During his month-long residency in the Kislak Center, Schwaller worked extensively with the Kislak Collection to advance his research on the history and legacy of maroon communities in the Americas—societies formed by people who escaped enslavement and established independent settlements across the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

Dr. Schwaller will share his recent findings and discuss how the collection has supported and enriched his ongoing scholarship.

Following the presentation, there will be a Q&A with the online audience. For more information and to register for this free online presentation, see the link in our bio.

Image from the photobook El Cimarrón y su Fandango by Mara Sánchez Renero (KAHL Editions, 2022)

01/13/2026

Are you looking for a full-time library staff position? Do you love exploring rare book and archival materials and helping others access these amazing resources? The Special Collections at the University of Miami Libraries has an opening for a Research Services and Projects Assistant to assist with a variety of activities and projects in this small but active department. This is a great role for someone with curiosity and organizational skill who is interested in learning more about library work among these truly unique collections. See the link in our bio for more info and to apply!

12/19/2025

Call for applications: The Jay I. Kislak Research Fellowship and Artist-in-Residence.

Applications accepted in English or Spanish through Saturday, January 31, 2026.

Housed in the Special Collections at the University of Miami Libraries, Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Early Americas, Exploration and Navigation at the University Libraries houses a large repository that focuses on cultural encounters and their legacies across the Americas. These materials include rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and cultural artifacts. As the Collection continues to grow, and in an effort to honor the original landmark gift, it now also includes contemporary artists’ books and zines that document modern-day cultural encounters in the Americas.

The Jay I. Kislak Research Fellowship and Artist-in-Residence program is made possible through a generous endowment provided by the Kislak Foundation to promote the Collection’s use through scholarly and artistic pursuits.

Research Fellowship

Research fellowships will support doctoral candidates and faculty who wish to use the Kislak Collection at the University Libraries as a primary resource for a dissertation or scholarly work. Fellowships of $4,500 per month will be granted for periods of one to two consecutive months, depending on the range of materials the applicant wishes to consult and the centrality of Kislak materials to their research.

Artist-in-Residence

Residencies of up to two months will support those who wish to use the Kislak Collection to advance their artistic practice. The artist can be at any stage of their career and in any discipline, such as literary, visual, and performing arts. The artist-in-residence will collaborate with the Kislak Collection and Special Collections to create works inspired by our materials. The program requires that all drafts, edited iterations, interviews, sketches, etc., be added to the Libraries’ collection. The artist will retain intellectual control over the final work(s). The artist-in-residence will receive a stipend of $4,500 per month.

See the link in our bio to find out more and apply!

Address

1300 Memorial Drive, Fl 1
Coral Gables, FL
33146

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 4pm

Website

http://www.library.miami.edu/specialcollections/

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