Welcome
Special Collections supports scholarly research, enhances teaching, and preserves USF and Florida history through a series of deep University and community partnerships. With a strong focus on local and regional records, artifacts, and publications, Special Collections is also home to numerous collections of national and international prominence that describe and contextualize diverse experiences from the 1500s to the present day.
Special Collections acquires and makes available for use materials of enduring research value in the following areas: Florida studies, USF university archives, Environmental studies, LGBTQ+ studies, Journalism, Children’s and young adult literature, and Civil Rights. Interested in donating?
View our consolidated collection development guidelines.
Strategic Collections
A central repository for environmental and natural history data, providing sustainable institutional support for the ingest, creation, and distribution of archival and secondary research resources centered on the impacts to, and effects on, Florida’s natural environment.
Established in 1958, the USF Herbarium acquires, preserves, and makes accessible for research and curricular use several significant collections. It is one of the largest herbaria in the United States and the second largest in Florida.
Extensive holdings that promote interdisciplinary teaching and research to help the Tampa Bay Community develop a better understanding of Florida’s past, present, and future.
Materials that document the administrative and intellectual history of the University of South Florida.
Historically significant lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer materials that document LGBTQ+ history, culture, politics, community relations, and public health.
Over 25,000 titles of American fiction for children and adolescents, dating from the early 1800s to the present. This collection provides the opportunity to study the evolving culture and sociology of American adolescents through the literature written for them.
Selection of Collections
Robert W. And Helen S. Saunders Papers
View CollectionThe late Dr. Robert W. Saunders and his wife Helen Strickland Saunders were civil rights activists who worked for the NAACP and government agencies.
#visibleUSF
View CollectionA virtual exhibit showcases the #visibleUSF LGBTQIA+ art gallery that took place at the USF’s Carolyn Wilson Gallery in October 2022.
Faculty Insight Portal
Get help with research and scholarly activity through the Discovery Suite
Robert W. And Helen S. Saunders Papers
View CollectionThe late Dr. Robert W. Saunders and his wife Helen Strickland Saunders were civil rights activists who worked for the NAACP and government agencies.