Special Collections curates specific cultural and heritage collections that reflect the enduring legacies of Oak Park, Illinois. Community open hours are from 1 to 4 pm every Wednesday and Thursday in the Main Library’s third-floor Reading Room. Stop by to learn more about the space, services, and materials.
- Ask a question, schedule your visit »
- See Oak Park online inventories »
- The Illinois Digital Archives houses many historic collections. See ArchivesSpace for inventories »
- Frank Lloyd Wright photograph collections. Email Kathleen Spale, Manager and Curator of Special Collections, at kathleens@oppl.org »
- Download Color Our Collections (pdf) »
Preserving a piece of the past
Special Collections curates, houses, and conserves Oak Park’s historical treasures, and makes them publicly available both in person and digitally. The team worked in 2018 with the Conservation Center in Chicago to conserve a work of art of special significance to the library—a rare window from the Scoville Institute, the late 19th-century building that once stood at 834 Lake St., now home to the Main Library. Today, a line drawing of that same preserved window is used as a visual identity for the team.
Collections (listed alphabetically)
Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Clipping Collection Inventory
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Rare Book Collection Inventory
Ernest Hemingway
- Ernest Hemingway Ephemera Collection Inventory
- Ernest Hemingway High School Essay Collection Inventory
- Ernest Hemingway Library Correspondence Inventory
- Ernest Hemingway Rare Book Collection Inventory
Frank Lloyd Wright
- Frank Lloyd Wright Correspondence Inventory
- Frank Lloyd Wright Ephemera Collection Inventory
- Frank Lloyd Wright Rare Book Collection Inventory
- Gilman Lane Photograph Collection Inventory
- Grant Manson Photograph Collection Inventory
- Grant Manson Research Collection Inventory
- Wasmuth Portfolio Inventory
Grand Army of the Republic
- Grand Army of the Republic Inventory: Two bound volumes containing biographical information and photographs of local veterans who fought in the Civil War. Learn more about some of the library’s oldest items »
Legends of Our Time Collection
- Legends of Our Time was a 1996 oral history project produced in cooperation with Concordia University (River Forest). Special Collections maintains the original audiovisual materials, transcripts, and supporting documentation. Check the library catalog for circulating copies »
Local Authors
The Local Authors Collection contains original works and related ephemera from authors and cultural figures from Oak Park.
- Local Authors Correspondence Inventory
- Anna Louise Strong Collection Inventory
- Bernice Clifton Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Carol Shields Monograph Collection Inventory
- Dorothy and Joseph Samachson Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Gertrude Fox Hoagland Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Harriette Gillem Robinet Collection Inventory
- John St. John Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Mary Estelle Cook Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Paul Allen Holmes Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Raymond F. Daboll Ephemera Collection Inventory
- Regina Zimmerman Kelly Collection Inventory
- Robert St. John Manuscript Collection Inventory
Open Housing Movement Collection
- The Oak Park Open Housing Collection: contains print and audiovisual materials from 1971-2000 related to the movement for racially-integrated housing in Oak Park, with the bulk of the materials concerning the Oak Park Housing Center (OPHC). As a result of this movement, Oak Park became a national leader in being a free, open, and inclusive community.
Philander Barclay Photograph Collection
- Philander Barclay Photograph Collection Inventory: Philander Barclay is known as Oak Park’s first historian. His photographs document people and places of his time.
Scoville Institute & Oak Park Public Library Collection
- The Scoville Institute was the precursor to the Oak Park Public Library. The collection includes rare books from the Scoville Institute, interior and exterior photographs and negatives of library buildings, and early correspondence and artifacts.
Partners
