Students working on a displaying coins on a board for exhibit
University Archives & Special Collections

For the first time in over fifty years, one of CWRU’s oldest collections is back on display. The Kelvin Smith Library Special Collections Coin Collection holds over three hundred coins spanning 600 years of ancient history, and a small group of historic coins from the modern era. Ancient Antioch to Contemporary Cleveland reintroduces the collection through the coins of the ancient city of Antioch and their journeys to Cleveland in the 19th century. On view now in the Henry R. Hatch Reading Room, located on the second floor.

 

shot of the FC lab through the glass
The Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship

The Freedman Center has been relaunched with a new space, new services, and new equipment. Click the link to learn more about the Center. 

banners hanging from central stairwell
EXHIBIT

Celebrating CWRU's 200th Birthday!

In 2026, we celebrate CWRU's 200th birthday. For the 150th birthday, or sesquicentennial celebration of the founding of Western Reserve College in 1826, CWRU created heraldic banners representing CWRU's schools from its past. Nine of these have been replicated and are on display in the central staircase of Kelvin Smith Library. 

Highlights

  • Two students work at a desk at Kelvin Smith Library
    April 20, 2026
    The final stretch of spring semester is upon us, bringing with it the completion of classes, theses and research projects. Kelvin Smith Library is here to help you do your best, and these 5 library tips and resources will help ensure a successful end to this semester at Case Western Reserve…
  • Two students assemble the ancient small coins in a glass exhibit case at Kelvin Smith Library
    March 31, 2026
    For the first time in more than 50 years, one of CWRU’s oldest collections is now on view.The Ancient Coin Collection, which features about 300 bronze and silver coins dating mostly from the second to fourth centuries, is receiving new scholarly attention through an ongoing research and…
  • Kelvin Smith Library building in the springtime with a flowering tree
    March 31, 2026
    This spring, Kelvin Smith Library is proud to announce the acquisition of the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) Archive. The comprehensive collection functions as the festival's institutional memory, documenting its growth from a 1977 subscription series into a premier international…