Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The Rare Book and Manuscript Library contains a lot of old shit (e.g. there are documents that are literally 4,000 years old, including but not limited to "cuneiform tablets, papyri, and Coptic ostraca"). It also contains "literary manuscripts from the 14th century [and] the papers of authors Herman Wouk and Erica Jong", as well as the papers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Random House, NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International-USA. Some of the University Archives are also located here. In total, it houses over 500,000 rare books and 74,000 linear feet of manuscripts.
The library's collection comprises items that have been in the university's possession since its founding in 1754. The Rare Book Department was formally established by order of the Trustees on July 1, 1930, and was one of the first of its kind in North America.
The library is located within the bowels of Butler Library, and is guarded by very protective librarians with a deep suspicion of undergraduates. On the plus side, it's totally climate controlled and will be a very pleasant temperature no matter how it feels outside.
