The Special Collections Department of the S.E. Wimberly Library began to build its special collections in the mid-1960s. Beginning with the Bert Franklin collection in 1963, the department now houses more than 50 “special and unique” collections.
Franklin, a personal rare-books collector, donated a large amount of historical and academic-related books and documents – dating back to the 1800s – to the Special Collections Department before FAU first opened its doors in 1964.
“The collection was massive,” says Dee Cael, head of the Special Collections Department. “The [Wimberly] Library was still under construction at the time, and there were no shelves in the library, so the collection was spread out in rows on the third floor.”
Unfortunately, Hurricane Chloe hit Boca Raton before the library could finish construction.
“Chloe came through and damaged much of the campus about a week before the campus was to open,” Cael recalls. “In fact, the FAU dedication ceremony was done in front of a bent flag pole only weeks after the storm.”
Chloe destroyed a few windows in the library, and flooding damaged some items from the Franklin collection. Although some of the original collection still remains, over the years, the collection dwindled due to damage, thief and a loss of interest.
“The Franklin collection is now scattered throughout the department, but every now and then, we find pieces from the collection with their little white paper inventory tag lying around,” Cael says.