Houghton Library

Home to Harvard’s rare books and manuscripts, literary and performing arts archives, and more: a destination for students, scholars, and the public.
the main entrance to houghton library, a brick building

Today's Hours

View all
General
10am - 5pm
Archives and Special Collections Reading Room at Houghton Library
10am - 4:45pm
Houghton Exhibition Galleries
10am - 5pm

Open to All Researchers

Houghton Library’s rare and unique special collection materials are available to all researchers regardless of affiliation. All materials must be requested for viewing in our reading room in advance of visiting the library.

Closeup of a hand pointing to a book open on a stand.

Researching with Special Collections

Learn how to find and access special collection materials from Houghton and other libraries at Harvard.

Houghton Library's reading room

Visiting the Reading Room

Make an appointment to view materials and learn more about planning a visit.

A class of students in Houghton Library

Teaching with Houghton Library

Collaborate with us on active learning experiences, primary source exploration, and hands-on printing.

Ask a Houghton Librarian

If you have a research question or need helping accessing our collections, our librarians are here to help. Search our FAQs or submit a question of your own and we'll get back to you.

Collection Highlights

Our collections highlight rare books, manuscripts, and archives spanning literature, history, and the arts, supporting humanities research from the medieval period to today.

Closeup of the rabbit figurine on Solomon Gate outside Lamont and Houghton libraries

Fellowships & Prizes

Houghton Library offers several fellowships, prizes, and funding opportunities for researchers at Harvard and beyond.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions and events are open to the public. If you can’t visit in person, you can explore many of our exhibitions and collection highlights online through Bloomberg Connects.

About Houghton Library

Recent News