Rare Book Collections

Columbia County: The Gateway into Florida. Florida County and City Histories, 1922. Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_MSS9224_B590_F02.

The Florida Collection comprises over 6,000 books and periodicals about Florida and by Florida authors. These materials include such topics as local history, guidebooks, cookbooks, business directories, politics, Native Americans, archaeology, and the environment.

Steps for searching the Florida Collection:

1. Open the library catalog Advanced Search
2. Type “Florida Collection” in the keyword box, including quotes
3. Select “Strozier, Special Collections” from the Location drop-down menu
4. Click “Search”

When searching the library's catalog for rare books, it can be useful to search for subject headings and limit the location to "Special Collections." Books tagged with these subject headings may also have other relevant tags that you can browse through as well.

Early Florida

• Frontier and pioneer life -- Florida
• Florida -- Discovery and exploration
• Florida -- colonization
• Florida -- History -- Spanish Colony

Tallahassee History

• Tallahassee (Fla.) -- History
• Leon County (Fla.) -- History.

Florida Industry & Agriculture

• Railroads -- Florida
• Agriculture -- Florida
• Industries -- Florida

The Civil War in Florida

• Slavery
• Florida--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
• Florida--Politics and government--1861-1865
• Confederate States of America--History
• Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)

Florida Politics

• Florida--Politics and government
• Florida--Politics and government--1821-1865
• Florida--Politics and government--1865-1950
• Florida--Politics and government--1951-

To find digitized selections from the Florida Collection, search the Florida History and Heritage collections.

Online

Main SCA Website
https://www.lib.fsu.edu/special-collections

Email SCA Staff
lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu

Visit SCA
https://www.lib.fsu.edu/special-collections/visit

FSU Library Catalog
fsu-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01FALSC_FSU:Home
Filter results for SCA by selecting "Library > FSU Special Collections and Archives"

FSU Finding Aid Database
archives.lib.fsu.edu

FSU Digital Library
https://repository.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:digital_library

Special Collections & Archives Reading Rooms Hours

Spring 2025

SCA Research Center
110 Strozier Library, Main Floor
(850) 644-3271

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Claude Pepper Library Reading Room
Claude Pepper Center, 636 W Call St
(850) 644-9217 

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 110am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm