The Special Collections department collects and preserves rare and unique materials including rare books, oral histories, university archives, historical manuscripts, maps, microfilm, photographs, art and artifacts. Students, faculty and the public are welcome to access collections and view special exhibits in the Judge Sarah T. Hughes Reading Room located on the fourth floor of Willis Library.
The Sandborn Room was established in memory of Edna Mae Sandborn, Assistant Music Librarian from 1963 to 1973, by members of her family. It houses the Music Library's core collection of rare scores and books about music. Included are first editions of Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals, the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and other important musical works. Other holdings include a number of early editions of the operas of Jean-Baptiste Lully. The collection was greatly enriched by the acquisition of the personal music rare book collection of the late Dr. Lloyd Hibberd, Professor of Musicology; many contents of the Sandborn Room may be viewed online in the Virtual Rare Book Room in the UNT Digital Library.
