The Rare Book Collection consists of non-circulating manuscript and printed materials. The collection consists of approximately 2,400 titles that span the history of the book.
The Rare Book Collection is particularly rich is certain subject areas including:
Religious Texts: Includes prayer books, bibles, and histories of world religions. Particularly noteworthy are five incunabula (books created before 1500) and several bound manuscript volumes, also from the fifteenth century. The latter include individual collection of psalms and prayers intended as an aid to private devotion, known as Books of Hours. The most notable of these is the Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis, Cum Calendario, also known as the Manhattanville Book of Hours.
Educational Works: Early textbooks, children's, and young adult literature.
Historical Accounts: Biographies and narratives.
The collection also includes other formats such as periodicals, pamphlets, government documents, maps, and manuscripts.
