The second floor of the E.H. Little Library at Davidson College houses the Smith Rare Book Room, an elegant room filled with handsome furniture, beautiful rugs and the library’s unique, rare, and unusual book collections. C. Alphonso Smith, Jr. provided funds for the decoration and dedication of the original Smith Rare Book Room in Grey Memorial Library. The same name was given to E. H. Little Library’s rare book room in grateful recognition of the continued interest, support and devotion Davidson College has received from the Smith family.
As the permanent repository of all rare books belonging to Davidson College, the Smith Rare Book Room contains those books, which because of physical condition or rarity, require additional security. Permission of a librarian is required for admittance into the room. Access to the collections is available by contacting the Special Collections Outreach Librarian and arranging a time to visit the room.
More than one thousand books are located in the Smith Rare Book Room. All books in the room are listed in the Library Catalog. The room includes non-circulating materials, which differ from the library’s main circulation collections because of their unique nature or value. Books are available for use by visiting scholars, as well as Davidson’s faculty, staff, and students. Special events are held during the academic year.
To hear a podcast of the April 2010 Poetry Month readings by Davidson faculty and students, click here.
The new Rare Book Room Usage Policy is now available online.