Book collections
About
Concordia University Library Special Collections provides access to an array of unique primary and published materials, including rare books, incunabula, manuscripts, and periodicals. These collections cover a variety of topics across the disciplines, and include materials related to the history of Quebec and Canada; the history of art, music, and theater; the Holocaust; genocide; political science; and religion, among other topics. Special Collections also holds a vast collection of literature, poetry, plays, and philosophy, dating from the 16th centuries to today. Our collection includes many items with significant cultural and historical value, including the Gay and Lesbian Literature Collection and the Sylvia and Irving Camlot collection of artists’ books, which are both certified Canadian Cultural Property. The Azrieli Holocaust collection, one of the most important specialized collections in North America for scholarly research and teaching on the Holocaust and the history of anti-Semitism, is also of great social, cultural, and historical import. These collections, among many others, are invaluable resources for Concordia students and faculty as well as for the broader community. These materials are available for consultation in the Special Collections Reading Room
Books held in Special Collections are available in the Sofia Discovery tool.
Azrieli Holocaust Collection
The Azrieli Holocaust Collection in the Concordia University Library is one of the most important specialized collections in North America for scholarly research and teaching on the Holocaust and the history of anti-Semitism. It also documents the history Nazi Germany, the history of Jewish-Christian relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the immeasurable impact of the Holocaust on post-Holocaust life, thought, and culture with special emphasis on Canada and the United States.
Established in 1984 by Montreal architect, businessman, and philanthropist David J. Azrieli, CM, CQ, M.Arch (1922-2014), whose parents, brother, and sister died in the Holocaust, the collection contains almost 9,500 titles from almost every discipline and includes rare books and ephemera from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s; digitized primary sources; microfilm collections of government records and war crimes trials; documentaries and feature films; survivor memoirs and diaries; and secondary texts. The languages represented in the collection include not just English and French, but Yiddish, Polish, German, Russian, and Hebrew. The Azrieli Holocaust Collection is an invaluable resource for Concordia students and faculty as well as for the broader community.
All items are identifiable in the Sofia Discovery tool, the Library catalogue.
Collins Political Cartoon Collection
The collection includes more than 200 books, pamphlets and periodicals reflecting one hundred years of cartooning (1880's to 1980's) in Canada and the United States. Histories of cartooning and cartoons by individuals and groups are included in this collection donated by John Collins, former editorial cartoonist at the Montreal Gazette.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
Concordia University Performance Recordings Collection
The collection consists of over 1,200 recordings of musical performances by Concordia students, faculty and guests. They were recorded at the Loyola Chapel and at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall between 1986 and 2005. Most are in audio cassette format with the latest ones on compact disc. There is a finding aid with a chronological list of performances in the Vanier Library Reference and Special Collections office.
D'Arcy McGee Collection
This collection includes some letters and books by, as well as biographies of D'Arcy McGee, journalist, poet, politician, and one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation. The collection also features a large number of books dating from the mid-19th and early 20th centuries about the Irish in Europe and in North America. The majority of these books are part of the circulating collection.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
Gay and Lesbian Literature Collection
This collection consists of 19th and 20th century American, British, Canadian, French-Canadian and some European materials. Most of the collection is 20th century fiction and poetry, with some books about film and fine arts. Many of the books are first editions and some include original dust jackets. There are selected issues of gay and lesbian periodicals as well as general periodicals with gay and lesbian content.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
Hilaire Belloc Collection
This collection consists of some 255 monographs by and about the noted British writer and poet. It includes first editions and limited editions of his poems, essays, biographies, histories, novels, satires and light verse.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
J. B. Rudnyckyj fonds
This collection of books, pamphlets, and unpublished papers relating to the 1963-71 Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism has been donated by Professor J. Rudnyckyj. Also included are items dealing with bilingualism and multiculturalism with an emphasis on Ukrainian Quebec groups.
James Card Cinema Collection
International in scope, this collection includes approximately 120 general, technical and biographical works dealing with the history of film from the silent era to the 1960's. Most works are in English with some German, French, Spanish and Swedish titles.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
Jonassohn Genocide Collection
The Jonassohn Genocide Collection is intended to support the comparative study of genocides, both historical and contemporary. To this end, it will support the acquisition of materials on all relevant cases other than the Holocaust, which is already covered by the Azrieli Holocaust Collection.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
Max Stern Bequest to Concordia University Library
This collection includes over 2500 publications from the personal and working library of Dr. Max Stern (1904-1987), art collector and owner of the Dominion Gallery in Montreal. The books and journals covering art history, connoisseurship, individual artists and the business of art are housed in the McGill Libraries Rare Book and Special Collection Division. The bequest is donated to Concordia University Libraries, McGill University Libraries, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
S. A. Rochlin Collection of South African Political and Trade Union Organizations
This is a collection of pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals and ephemeral documents such as flyers, letters, minutes, etc., of left-wing political and labour organizations in South Africa, including the Communist Party of South Africa, the International Socialist League, the South African Trades Union Congress and the South African Association of Employees' Organizations. The dates of the documents range from 1912 to 1960, but most are from the 1920's and 1930's. The documents are extremely fragile.
Walton Hannah Masonic Collection
Donated by Reverend W. Hannah, this collection includes over 500 books and periodicals on the history and rituals of Freemasonry. Official or authentic versions of Masonic degrees and orders, books on occultism, and materials on the history of Freemasonry and other secret societies can be found. Coverage includes Great Britain, North America and Europe.
A list of items in the collection is available through the Sofia Discovery tool.
