Special Collections is open during Main Library hours by appointment only. To coordinate a date and time for your visit, please use the “Ask a question, schedule a visit” button below.
Special Collections curates specific cultural and heritage collections that reflect enduring legacies of Oak Park. Digital items are available through the Illinois Digital Archives. The team collaborates with community partners to make historic collections accessible. See ArchivesSpace for inventories »
Looking for access to Frank Lloyd Wright photograph collections? Email Kathleen Spale, Manager of Special Collections and Materials Handling at kathleens@oppl.org »
What’s new
Collections (sorted alphabetically)
Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Rare Book Collection Inventory
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Clipping Collection Inventory
Ernest Hemingway
- Ernest Hemingway High School Essay Collection Inventory
- Ernest Hemingway Library Correspondence Inventory
- Ernest Hemingway Rare Book Collection Inventory
- Ernest Hemingway Ephemera Collection Inventory
Frank Lloyd Wright
- Frank Lloyd Wright Correspondence Inventory
- Gilman Lane Photograph Collection Inventory
- Grant Manson Photograph Collection Inventory
- Grant Manson Research Collection Inventory
- Frank Lloyd Wright Rare Book Collection Inventory
- Frank Lloyd Wright Ephemera 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 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. Please 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
- Bernice Clifton Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Mary Estelle Cook Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Raymond F. Daboll Ephemera Collection Inventory
- Gertrude Fox Hoagland Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Paul Allen Holmes Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Regina Zimmerman Kelly Collection Inventory
- Harriette Gillem Robinet Collection Inventory
- Dorothy and Joseph Samachson Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Carol Shields Monograph Collection Inventory
- John St. John Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Robert St. John Manuscript Collection Inventory
- Anna Louise Strong 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.
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