These have over 46,000 volumes and  include books worthy of special care and preservation because of age, scarcity, association value, or other factors.

Below is a summary description of the Rare Book Collections. For more detail, see the alphabetical index of book collections.

The General Rare Book Collection

contains early printed books, fine printing, private press books, and first or important editions of works in many subject areas, with primary strength in English and American literature.

The 33 Author Collections

First and important later editions of such British and American writers as Alfred Tennyson, H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, George Moore, Somerset Maugham, Leigh Hunt, Samuel Rogers, Thomas Campbell, John Galsworthy, Arnold Bennet, Henry Miller, and others.

The Ohioana Collection

Important works in the history of Ohio, concentrating on the southeastern portion of the state.

The Ohio University Faculty Authors Collection

Books by current and former members of the faculty and staff. Books published by OU-Athens faculty members since 1950 are listed by department or school.

The Edmund Blunden Collection

A personal library focused on British literature and arts and letters.

The Morgan Collection in the History of Chemistry

Works by English and American chemists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Osteopathic Literature Collection

Basic early publications in this medical field.

The Textbook Collection

19th century American school textbooks, especially McGuffey readers and math titles.

The Travel Collection

Travel handbooks from the late 19th to mid-20th century for Europe and the world.

The Juvenile Literature Collection

19th and 20th century childrens' literature, both individual items and many popular series.

Other subjects are British drama, the French Revolution, regional city directories, regional telephone directories, regional planning documents, and local newspaper clippings files.