In 1826, the South Carolina Baptist Convention chartered the Furman Academy and Theological Institution; several years later, they recommended the creation of an archives for essential Furman Academy records and notable documents of the Baptist denomination. Although the concept of a Special Collections and Archives department surfaced very early in the university’s history and there were efforts to collect and preserve university materials, it was many years before the collection had an identity and many more years still before it had staffing and suitable accommodations. In 1890, Harvey Tolliver Cook, Professor of Classics, designated this collection the Baptist Historical Collection. Loulie Latimer Owens served as Furman’s first Special Collections Librarian when Furman moved to its new campus in the late 1950s. In the library renovation and expansion in 2003-2004, the current Special Collections and Archives department on the second floor of Duke Library was reconfigured and housed. We have a large research room, audio/visual viewing facilities, lockers for readers, and a lobby/gallery space that hosts two-three exhibitions each year. Class visits take place either in the Simms Research Room or in the adjacent Pitts Room, a fully-equipped smart classroom with facilities for allowing the hands-on close examination of rare materials in a seminar setting. 

Special Collections and Archives contains several components: the Furman University Archives; a rare book collection; manuscript collections; the South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection; the South Carolina Poetry Archives; the Microtonal Music Archive; queer zine collection; and collections of Furman authors in addition to textiles, artifacts, and furniture. 

These materials are maintained separately from the general library collections due to their uniqueness, fragility, significance and format. Information on how to identify and locate materials can be found on our website.

Materials housed in Special Collections and Archives are available for research during our open hours. Researchers can request materials and use them in the Simms Research Room. All cataloged holdings of the department (books and periodicals) may be identified through the Library's online catalog. Guides to archival, manuscript, and digital collections can be found on the department's website.

Materials available for browsing in the Simms Research Room include Furman and Greenville Woman's College yearbooks, the Furman alumni magazine, the student newspaper (Paladin/Hornet), books from the South Carolina Poetry Archives, and general reference works on Furman and Greenville history.