Visit us

The Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives brings together the resources of the library's rare books and special collections with the College archives. While our primary constituencies are the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Connecticut College, we welcome all researchers and visitors. The Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives is located on the second floor of the Shain Library on the campus of Connecticut College.

Hours

The Lear Center is open 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. while classes are in session. During summer break, the Center is open by appointment only. Please contact us to set up an appointment to visit.

Planning a Visit

Before coming to the Lear Center please take a moment to become familiar with our reading room policies. Lear Center collections are held in closed stacks. To ensure that your materials are ready for you when you arrive, we strongly urge you to contact us in advance of your visit. You can email us at learcenter@conncoll.edu or stop into the Lear Center to set up an appointment.

For Faculty

Please provide Lear Center staff with two weeks' advance notice when arranging a class session in the Center. This  ensures that the items you need are available and that we are prepared to arrange and introduce the materials. Students are encouraged to handle materials, but should make certain that their hands are clean (the Lear Center does not require the use of gloves for handling books and manuscripts). Lear center staff can offer preliminary instruction on the handling of delicate materials.

If you would like to find a way to integrate the use of rare or archival materials into research or class projects, don't hesitate to make an appointment to discuss this with Lear Center staff. In some circumstances, it may be possible to digitize materials for further use in the classroom.

Directions and Parking on Campus

Connecticut College is located at 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320.  Please see Directions to the College for more extensive traveling information to Connecticut College as well as detailed campus maps. Visitors coming to the Lear Center are encouraged to park in the South and North parking lots as there is often limited parking in front of Shain Library.