All manuscript collections are stored in closed stacks and must be requested via call slips. Some manuscript collections require advance notice to consult; a few are governed by use restrictions necessitated by privacy concerns or donor restrictions.

To identify manuscript collections held by Special Collections and University Archives, consult IRIS, or other online catalogs, as well as card files and subject guides available in the New Jersey Room.

When consulting IRIS, it is possible to restrict one's search only to manuscripts by using the appropriate format setting on the "Advanced Search" screen. In addition, when looking at an IRIS cataloging record for a manuscript collection, it is usually possible to obtain additional information about the collection by consulting the fullest version of the cataloging record. To obtain this more complete text, click on "Change Display" and, on the resulting screen, change the "view of catalog records" setting from "Default" to "Complete" and then click the "OK" button. This change, necessary only once during a search session, will make additional notes in a manuscripts cataloging record visible, including the biographical/historical note.

Printed subject and genre guides to Rutgers manuscript collections that are available at the New Jersey Room reference desk pertain to diaries and journals, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, medicine in New Jersey and records of religious organizations. (Three of these guides are also publications available for purchase and a fourth is available from the Genealogical Society of New Jersey.) A short overview of the manuscript collections pertaining to labor is also available. For online guides, see below.

Rutgers manuscript collections are referenced in numerous national guides, including (through the mid-1980s) the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Other, representative examples include: American Literary Manuscripts (X-REF / Z6620 .U5M6 1977); Guide to Research Collections of Former United States Senators, 1789-1995 (X-REF / CD3043 .P39 1995); and Sources in Electrical History: Archives and Manuscript Collections in U.S. Repositories (SNCLNJ / HD9685 .S68 1989).

Finding aids are available at the New Jersey Room reference desk for various individual manuscript collections held by Special Collections and University Archives. Those finding aids which are also available online are listed below.

Summaries of Manuscript Sources (Multiple Collections)

• American Revolution (Highlights only)

• Women's History Sources: A Guide to Manuscripts and Archival Collections (Detailed guide)

Finding Aids (Individual Collections)

• Alexander, Archibald Stevens, 1906-1979. Papers
  A former high-level employee of the U.S. Army, Archibald S. Alexander (1906-1979) was also associated with the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the Arms Control Association and groups such as the Gateway National Recreation Area Advisory Commission.

• Alexander, Robert Jackson, 1918- Papers
  An emeritus professor of economics at Rutgers University, Robert J. Alexander has conducted interdisciplinary research focused on Latin America, where he frequently traveled to conduct interviews, Spain (particularly the opposition to Franco) and international radical movements.

• American Association of University Women. Pequannock Township Branch. Records
  Organized in 1968, the Pequannock Township Branch of the A.A.U.W. studied community issues, lobbied for tougher standards in New Jersey schools and actively supported the Equal Rights Amendment.

• Borough of Roosevelt Historical Collection
  Noted for distinctive architecture and renowned as an artists' colony, Roosevelt, New Jersey, began its existence as a New Deal community of Jewish settlers supported by economic cooperatives in the form of farm operations, a factory and retail shops.

• Brooks family. Papers
  Residents of Bridgeton, New Jersey, the Brooks family included Enoch Brooks, a member of the Third New Jersey Cavalry during the Civil War, and his spouse Elizabeth S. Brooks.

• Byrne, Brendan T., 1924- Papers
  An Army Air Forces navigator during World War II, Brendan T. Byrne subsequently became a lawyer and served successively as prosecutor for Essex County, as president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners, as a Superior Court judge and as governor of New Jersey.

• Cahill, William T. (William Thomas), 1912-1996. Congressional papers
  Although subsequently elected governor of New Jersey, lawyer William T. Cahill (1912-1996) also spent eleven years in Congress, January 1959-January 1970, as the U.S. Representative for successive districts composed of municipalities in Camden county and two adjacent counties.

• Congregation Sharri Sholom. Records
  A Conservative synagogue located in formerly rural South Brunswick Township, New Jersey, Congregation Sharri Sholom existed from 1942 until 1981 and counted the artist George Segal among its members.

• Consumers' Research, Inc. Records
  Located for most of its existence in rural Washington, New Jersey, Consumers' Research, Inc., was the first American product testing organization to systematically document the reliability of twentieth century consumer goods.

• Detwiller, Charles H. Architectural papers
  A preservation architect based in Plainfield, New Jersey, Charles H. Detwiller, Jr., documented and restored numerous historic structures in central and northern New Jersey.

• Dyckman, Mary L. Papers
  A retired social worker who served twelve years as president of the Consumers League of New Jersey, Mary L. Dyckman (1886-1984) was an advocate of government protections for workers, especially child laborers and migrant workers.

• Grant, Frances R. Papers
  A cultural ambassador and human rights activist who focused on Latin America, Frances R. Grant (1896-1993) pursued her life's work through the Pan-American Women's Association, the International League for Human Rights and the Inter-American Association for Democracy and Freedom.

• International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers. President's Office. Records
  Formed in 1949 to supplant an existing union deemed too radical, the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, as reflected in the records of its first president James B. Carey, advanced the cause of workers in the electrical industry and advocated fair employment practices.

• International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers—Communication Workers of America. Local 401 (Edison, N.J.). Records
  Chartered in 1952, IUE-CWA Local 401 represented employees at an appliance factory (ultimately known as Frigidaire Home Comfort Products) in Edison, New Jersey, until it closed in 2003.

• Kenner, Valentin, 1911-1967. Papers
  A native of the Ferrer Colony near Stelton, New Jersey, Valentin Kenner (1911-1967) served in the antifascist Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War.

• League of Women Voters of New Jersey. Records
  Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey is a non-governmental organization which promotes non-partisan political education and responsible public policy.

• Maurer, John, 1905-1988. Papers
  A New Jersey based optical engineer and inventor who held approximately 60 patents in the fields of sound optics, camera design and photographic chemistry, John Maurer specialized in aerial cameras and 16mm and 8mm film projectors and printers.

• Modern School Collection
  As an integral part of an anarchist community situated near Stelton, New Jersey, the Modern School provided an alternative education (encouraging students' creativity and self-reliance) based on the principles of Spaniard Francisco Ferrer.

• Nelson, Julius, 1858-1916. Papers
  A fixture at Rutgers College and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station for almost three decades, professor Julius Nelson (1858-1916) focused on teaching biology, educating the public about health matters, researching oysters and disseminating his research findings.

• New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women. Records
  Begun as a network of local clubs in 1919 by middle class working women, the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women has focused over time on addressing equity and workplace concerns, promoting personal and career development and advancing women's health issues.

• New Jersey Folk Festival. Records
  

• Order of the Founders and Patriots of America. New Jersey Society. Records
  Formed in April 1896, the New Jersey Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America is a patriotic organization for men with American lineages that include both an early seventeenth century settler and a Revolutionary War era ancestor who actively supported independence.

• Roebling, Mary G. (Mary Gindhart), 1905-1994. Papers
  A resident of Trenton, New Jersey, Mary G. Roebling (1905-1994) was a banker, philanthropist and member of government councils whose successful career included a number of firsts, including becoming the first woman to head a major U.S. bank.

• Schack, Paul A. (Paul Alexander), 1902-1985, collector. Paul A. Schack collection
  A local historian who extensively documented South River, New Jersey, Paul A. Schack (1902-1985) was a manager with Macy's and the brother of Walter W. Schack, a World War II veteran who became South River's first mayor of Russian descent.

• Sharp, Thelma Parkinson, 1898-1983. Papers
  A graduate of Smith College, Thelma Parkinson Sharp (1898-1983) of Vineland, New Jersey, was a Democratic party activist and a 1930 candidate for the U.S. Senate.

• Sisters in Crime. Records
  Founded in part to document and combat gender-based discrimination in the field of publishing, Sisters in Crime has worked at the national and regional levels since 1987 to support and advance the interests of women authors of detective, crime and mystery fiction.

• Temple Beth El (Rutherford, N.J.). Records
  Founded as the South Bergen Hebrew Institute of East Rutherford in 1919, Temple Beth El, a congregation of Conservative Jews, has been located in Rutherford since the early 1950s.

• Thompson, Ernest, 1907-1971. Papers
  A union official who helped found the National Negro Labor Council, Ernest Thompson (1907-1971) was also a community activist who helped bring about political and economic gains for African Americans in Orange, New Jersey, and nearby communities.

• Weyl, Walter E. (Walter Edward), 1873-1919. Papers
  A founding editor of the New Republic, Walter E. Weyl (1873-1919) was a social economist and journalist whose writings included an analysis of the causes of World War I and impediments to its resolution; he also toured East Asia and gathered information for an unrealized book on Japan.

• Williams, Harrison A. Papers
  A U.S. Senator from New Jersey during the period 1959 to 1982, Democrat Harrison A. Williams, Jr. (1919-2001), worked to advance civil rights, to promote economic equity and security, to broaden educational opportunities, to expand mass transit options and to further environmental conservation.

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