Library Collections
Mossey Library houses approximately 285,000 volumes of printed books and serials, and over 18,000 audiovisual and microform items. In addition, the library provides access to over 1.7 million electronic books, journals, and media files. The collections are supplemented by millions of items available from libraries in the state of Michigan through MeLCat, and billions of items available from libraries worldwide through WorldCat.
The library maintains the Hillsdale College Archives, as well as numerous additional archival and rare collections, both in Mossey Library and in additional locations around campus.
The Richardson Heritage Room contains several collections of rare books, as well as a browsable collection, focusing on the foundations of Western heritage. The room is also home to a large collection of sculptures, including 23 eagles, paintings of American founding fathers, and a collection of 18th and 19th century firearms. A rare volume of Aristotle’s writings from the Varnum T. Hull collection is housed in the room, together with Hull’s collection of early Bibles and the Book of Common Prayer. Additional items of interest include a rare copy of The Augsburg Confession and a 1662 edition of Martin Luther's translation of the Bible. Items from the Alwin Carus Coin Collection are on display, as is a first edition of Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man, together with the first French edition. Other items on display include textbooks representative of those used at the College in the mid-19th century, and an early edition of the Federalist Papers.
The Ludwig von Mises Room is home to the economist’s personal library, as well as artifacts and papers from his estate.
The Alden B. Dow Room houses several small archival collections, including the library and papers of Richard Weaver, and the diary and correspondence of a Hillsdale student who fought and died during the American Civil War. The room also contains several collections focused on Winston Churchill, early works on the Freewill Baptists, materials related to Michigan history, and works by Hillsdale College authors.
A number of the library’s collections are currently kept in storage areas in the library and elsewhere on campus. These include the libraries of Russell Kirk, Sir Martin Gilbert, and Harry Jaffa, the papers of Sir Martin Gilbert and Harry Jaffa, the Rogan Collection of Political Memorabilia, and the Dr. Allan G. Schmidt and Mrs. Carla S. Schmidt Collection of Historical Letters.
Materials from many of the archival and special collections have been digitized and may be viewed in the Hillsdale College Digital Archive.