The Canisius College Special Collections Room houses the most unique and valuable materials in the library. The goal of the Library is to preserve and protect these items while at the same time making them accessible to the College community as well as the general public. As we approach another transformation of the methods of information dissemination fueled by the use of computers, it seems fitting that the Canisius College Library can encompass both visions: that of the past and that of the future.
Opened in 1988 as a gift of the Balling Construction Inc. and its employees, the Special Collections Room consists of approximately 2,000 items. The collection houses medieval manuscripts including the beautifully illuminated Books of Hours, a rare 1483 Koburger Bible and other early printed Bibles, books on Irish literature and the history of the Jesuits, as well as facsimilies of the Gutenberg Bible and the Book of Kells.
Bibliographic information on all items cataloged in Special Collections can be found through the library catalog.