Until 1963, the Newberry Library had no special collections department as it is now constituted (rare books, manuscripts, maps, endowed collections). During the Library's early years, rare or special collections were maintained in a Museum (founded 1897) and in a Department of Collections (founded 1907). From 1916 to 1930, all rare materials not in the Wing Foundation or the Ayer Collection were accessed through the Main Reading Room. Beginning in 1930, special items were handled through the Rare Book Room, a part of the Public Services Division, opened that year under G. L. Woodward. A year after Woodward's retirement (1963), rare books, manuscripts, and the endowed collections were consolidated in a new Special Collections Department, reporting to the Librarian (later Associate Librarian). The Wing Foundation, though serviced by the Special Collections Reading Room, remained administratively separate from the Department. Since 1976, Special Collections has been a section of the Readers Services Department; however it continued to report to the Associate Librarian until 1986, when a Reader Services Librarian was appointed. In 1988, the Map Section joined Special Collections.

Includes records of the Special Collections Section, its predecessor units, and its constituent parts: Ayer Collection, Graff Collection, rare books, maps, and manuscripts.

Records of the Wing Foundation for the History of Printing are located in Record Group 08, Collection Development.