Special Collections at FIU Libraries is a leading research destination for Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Hispanic diaspora, preserving rare and unique primary sources that bring the region’s histories, cultures, migrations, and political change to life. These collections support discovery and scholarship across disciplines, offering documentation of major regional events, transnational movements, and global connections through the work of journalists, scholars, and creators.
With 119 collections and thousands of rare books, Special Collections offers resources for research, teaching, and public engagement. Founded by FIU’s first President, Charles E. Perry, the unit has grown from its original home in the airport tower to its current location on the 4th floor of the Steven and Dorothea Green Library, reflecting decades of expansion and innovation in service to the university and broader community.
Spanning the 15th to the 21st centuries, the collections include rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, scrapbooks, personal papers, artifacts, artwork, audiovisual materials, and digital resources, providing dynamic pathways for exploration, learning, and digital scholarship.
University Archives at FIU Libraries serves as the institutional memory of Florida International University, preserving and providing access to records that document the university’s history, governance, academic growth, and impact on the community. The Archives collect, organize, and make accessible a wide range of materials that reflect the development of FIU from its founding to the present, including administrative records, publications, photographs, audiovisual materials, and digital records.
As a core research and discovery resource, University Archives supports teaching, scholarship, accreditation, and institutional storytelling by ensuring that the history of FIU is documented, preserved, and available for current and future generations. Through ongoing collection, preservation, and digitization efforts, the Archives expand access to key historical materials and support new opportunities for engagement with the university’s legacy and evolution.
Mission
Special Collections acquires, arranges, describes, preserves and provides access to rare, unique and out of print of materials and interdisciplinary collections pertaining to the geographic, national and cultural regions of Latin America, the Caribbean, Miami and Florida to augment the research needs of patrons from the University and the wider community.
University Archives serves as the repository of the official records relating to the founding, development of, and future plans for Florida International University. These documents will provide researchers, within and outside the university, information to study the activities of all facets of FIU.
