Manuscripts
SC&A serves as a hub of research, learning, and discovery around primary sources and special collections for the Bowdoin community and for researchers from around the world. We collect, describe, preserve, and make available primary sources and special collections that complement the official historical record of Bowdoin College, contained in the College Archives. The department holds nearly 650 manuscript collections that can be consulted in our secure reading room, and selected materials are available online. Our particular collection strengths include materials related to abolitionism and anti-slavery movements in the United States, Arctic exploration, the Civil War and Reconstruction, natural history, local and regional history, and the personal and professional papers of many Bowdoin faculty and alumni.