Collecting at the Newberry

The Newberry acquires, through purchases and gifts, and preserves a broad array of books, manuscripts, maps, and other materials relating to the civilizations of Europe and the Americas. We focus our collecting on original or primary source materials – such as manuscripts and early editions of printed books and maps – that will be preserved and made available for generations. In doing so, we aspire to enhance the great collection strengths that have been built by curators, librarians, other scholars, and donors throughout the library’s history.

We also selectively acquire secondary literature – scholarly editions of primary sources, reference tools, monographs, journals, and digital resources – in order to facilitate access to and use of our original source materials.

If you wish to consult Newberry staff about an area of the collection or are considering a gift of materials to the collection, please contact a curator or librarian, listed below by collecting areas. For other questions about Newberry collecting, contact us at collecting@newberry.org.

Contacts for Collecting Areas

American History and Culture
Will Hansen
Curator of Americana and Director of Reader Services
hansenw@newberry.org, (312) 255-3527

American Indian and Indigenous Studies
Colonial-era Latin America and the Philippines
Will Hansen
Curator of Americana and Director of Reader Services
hansenw@newberry.org, (312) 255-3527

British Literature and History
Jill Gage
Bibliographer for British Literature and History
gagej@newberry.org, (312) 255-3635

Genealogy and Local History
Matthew Rutherford
Curator of Genealogy and Local History
rutherfordm@newberry.org, (312) 255-3671

History of Printing and the Book Arts
Jill Gage
Custodian of the John M. Wing Foundation on the History of Printing
gagej@newberry.org, (312) 255-3635

Librarianship
Alan Leopold
Director of Collection Services
leopolda@newberry.org, (312) 255-3629

Maps, Travel, and Exploration
James R. Akerman
Curator of Maps, and Director of the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography
akermanj@newberry.org, (312) 255-3523

Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Studies
Continental European Literature, History, and Culture
Suzanne Karr Schmidt
George Amos Poole III Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts
karrschmidts@newberry.org, (312) 255-3645

Modern Manuscripts and Archives
Alison Hinderiter
Interim Lloyd Lewis Curator of Modern Manuscripts
hinderlitera@newberry.org, (312) 255-3694

Performing Arts
Alison Hinderliter
Interim Lloyd Lewis Curator of Modern Manuscripts
hinderlitera@newberry.org, (312) 255-3694

Postcards
Will Hansen
Curator of Americana and Director of Reader Services
hansenw@newberry.org, (312) 255-3527

Reference
Jo Ellen Dickie
Reference Librarian
dickiej@newberry.org, (312) 255-3522