A collection of 50,000 rare books (printed before c. 1825), manuscripts, and 16,000 reference books and secondary sources (printed after c. 1825) of which 90% is accessible online. Extensive holdings in the literature of European exploration and travel in the Western Hemisphere, from the first Latin edition of the Columbus letter of 1493, through nearly all of the contemporary narratives of Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English discovery, exploration, and settlement. These primary materials are supported by a large bibliographical reference collection.