Welcome to Special Collections

This is a working draft of our upcoming website, which is still in development. Please refer to current website to access our collections. 

Special Collections was founded in 1977 as the Southern Highlands Research Center with the mission of collecting resources that document the diverse culture and history of Asheville and Western North Carolina, a mission we continue to this day. Our collections include manuscripts, books, oral histories, photographs, and other materials.


University Archives includes records, photographs, and publications documenting the history of the University of North Carolina Asheville. Our archivists assist the UNC Asheville community with questions about records retention as outlined in the UNC System’s Records Retention and Disposition Schedule.

We welcome students, faculty, staff, community members, and researchers to use Special Collections and University Archives. We’re located on the third floor of D.H. Ramsey Library on the UNC Asheville campus. Our reading room hours are posted below and we are also available by appointment. As part of our mission to serve the UNC Asheville community, Special Collections also provides instruction, reference services, and internship opportunities to support undergraduate curricula and individual student research. Please contact us at speccoll@unca.edu for research assistance.

Are you having trouble citing primary sources? Check out our guide to citing primary sources in Chicago/Turabian style.

For news and updates about our collections, please refer to our blog, UNC Asheville Archives. We are also on Facebook

Our Collections Include

Hours

Ramsey Library and Special Collections are open by appointment only during this summer. Available times for appointments are:

  • Monday: 9 AM – 4 PM
  • Tuesday: 9 AM – 4 PM
  • Wednesday: 9 AM – 4 PM
  • Thursday: 9 AM – 4 PM
  • We are closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Please contact us to make an appointment or for any reference questions. You can call us at (828) 251-6645 or email us at speccoll@unca.edu

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