Archives and Special Collections maintains a growing number of collection guides and inventories to support discovery of and access to the collections.
We currently have 4000+ digitized and born digital images accessible online through our Image Database, but thousands more housed in the Archives.
Reproduction or redistribution of images from the Image Database is strictly prohibited. Please email us if there is an image you’re interested in using.
The Guides to Institute Records and Manuscript Collections provides web access to descriptive information and inventories of archival and special collections housed in the Institute Archives.
These collections include archival records which provide documentation of the development and growth of the Institute. Special Collections include manuscript collections focusing on nineteenth and twentieth century science and technology.
* Access to RPI histories, Institute publications, and images is currently in transition as we migrate our content to a new platform. Please direct any questions to Rensselaer Digital Collections Support.
Part of the Rensselaer Libraries' catalog that includes only materials housed in the Institute Archives and Special Collections department. This includes rare books, undergraduate theses (1855-1910), and cataloged archival and manuscript collections.
Search the Rare Books catalog
Our online exhibitions highlight content from the collections to educate our readers and share the history of the Institute with our research communities.
Curated resources on specific topics of Rensselaer history: exhibitions, bibliographic guides to key subject areas of special interest, and other important lists.
