Many University students have never set foot in Firestone Library's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, but if they had, they could have discovered the manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and George Kennan's Long Telegram, or Herman Melville's copy of Paradise Lost.
The department has long been the domain of seniors working on theses or juniors on independent work, with many underclassmen hardly aware of its existence.
The department houses hundreds of thousands of rare and important books, 9,000 feet of ancient manuscript, Latin texts, original Victorian novels and manuscripts.
Ben Primer is the associate university librarian for rare books and special collections. "We are here to help students with their research," he said.
However, the department's works are not all on display. "What we don't do is bring out materials simply because someone is curious and wants to see something written by George Washington or F. Scott Fitzgerald," Primer explained.
Not only do the librarians help with research, but they are also the caretakers of a collection whose pieces are found on every floor of Firestone Library. They operate three major vaults, each containing thousands of priceless pieces of history.
Because the vaults contain valuables like Greek and Roman coins and Ethiopian magic scrolls, security is a great concern.
For example, when the department's original Gutenberg Bible is taken out for display, a guard is stationed with it for the entire time that it remains outside of the vault.
The vaults themselves are fire resistant, with excellent temperature, humidity controls and Halon gas fire suppression, Primer said.
Though the pieces are only available for research purposes, it is relatively easy to access materials.
"It seems like there would be restrictions," Bryce Lee '05 said. Students only need to provide paperwork and photo identification to access the materials.
Visitors bring materials to the Dulles Reading Room on Firestone's ground floor.
Beneath ceiling-high picture windows draped with royal green curtains and the wood-paneled desks in neat rows, a curator will often observe as the student or guest examines the material.
The department's staff spend hours and sometimes days tracking the origins of books and manuscripts, carefully filing each one away so that students will be able to find the information.
Primer called the work of the cataloguers "a mysterious craft," and noted that each of them has a unique and personal way of doing their job.
For example, in order to trace the history of a particular piece, one cataloguer may focus on the author while another may emphasize tracing its publishing roots.
"Any great University needs a great library, and one of the things that makes a library great is having rare and unique materials not found elsewhere," Primer said.
Primer added, "We are the part of the library that reaches out to the wider world. More than half of our users come from outside the University community."
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