Instruction Special Collections Research Center

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We welcome undergraduate and graduate class visits year-round. Curators and SCRC staff are available to provide exhibition tours and tailored presentations on our collection materials to your students.

Introduction to Special Collections

Offers a glimpse into the workings of a world-renowned special collections department and its place within the university setting, as well as information on accessing the Special Collections Research Center and how our holdings can be utilized for your students' research.

Thematic Sessions

Offer an in-depth look at materials directly related to your specific course. The SCRC staff work closely with professors to select collection materials that will highlight particular themes and issues. A sequence of thematic sessions offered over the semester and keyed to the course syllabus is also available.

Please visit our SCRC Sessions guides to see lists of collection materials presented in previous sessions.

Exhibition Tours

SCRC curators are available to lead tours of the current exhibition in our gallery to your students.

Hold Class in SCRC

SCRC's state-of-the-art Lemke Seminar Room is available for use by Syracuse University faculty members who wish to present SCRC collection materials that relate to a particular class lecture to their students.

Develop New Courses

Faculty members from departments and programs across the university have the opportunity to develop undergraduate and graduate courses around the diverse and unique holdings of the Special Collections Research Center. Our Faculty Fellows program provides a stipend for faculty to plan and create new courses over the summer.

Belfer Audio Archive and Preservation Laboratory

Instruction sessions can utilize sound recordings, sound playback equipment, and other materials from SCRC's collection of the history of recorded sound. We also provide tours of the facility of the nation's first dedicated preservation laboratory for recorded sound or sessions that include a more in-depth look at select topics.

Aligning with education standards

Centered around access to primary source materials using our rare book and manuscript collection materials, lessons can be designed to meet New York State Standards and AASL Standards for the 21st century Learner. Consider using SCRC materials for lessons around:

  • Abolition Movement
  • American Industrial Revolution
  • Ancient World Writing Systems: Cuneiform and Papyrus
  • Civil War
  • Erie Canal
  • Harlem Renaissance
  • Women's Suffrage Movement
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • The Yellow Kid

Arrange Your Visit

To schedule an in-person or virtual session, please complete our online request form with at least three weeks notice. For further information, please contact us at scrcinstruction@syr.edu or call 315.443.2697.