In addition to the books available for circulation, the Special Collections of the Philbrick rare book room holds texts dating back to the library's Colonial Era origins:
Founder's Collection: 70 of 345 volumes from the Providence Library Company's (1753-1836) original collection survived the fire of Christmas Eve, 1758.
The majority of these remain in the collection.

Archives: The institutional records of the library, starting with the foundation of the Providence Library Company in 1753.

Holder Borden Bowen Collection: Holder Borden Bowen donation of about 2,000 volumes on "folklore, memoirs, 17th and 18th century travel and exploration, and many examples of fine printing and binding"
Pamphlet Collection: Focused mainly on the 19th century, it includes "anti-slavery and temperance tracts, Civil War items, materials related to the Indian Rights Association of Philadelphia, and many others topics such as early shipwrecks, funeral orations, feminism, local and state organizations, etc.
The collection has yet to be fully catalogued."

Smithsonian Institution Publications: Materials from the library's time as a depository for the United States Government Printing Office
Old Juveniles: A collection of nearly 3,000 volumes by late 19th and early 20th-century British and American artists.

Old Fiction: "This collection includes rare editions of books by famous authors including Walt Whitman, Herman Melville and Louisa May Alcott.
There are also many works printed in Providence and Boston in the 19th century and a large collection of women writers from the same period.
There are many thousand titles in the collection and most are accessible via the on-line catalogue."

Costume Collection: "Comprising about 200 volumes, the costume collection contains primarily 19th and 20th century works on European costume design."

Roycroft Collection: "There are approximately 300 items from the press of the Roycrofters that flourished in East Aurora, NY from roughly 1895 to 1915.
The Roycroft design was inspired by a mix of commercial interest and the arts-and crafts movement."

Travel and Exploration:" The travel and exploration collection contains c.2500 titles ranging from Ptolemy's Cosmographia (1482), to the Description de l'Egypte (1809-1822) commissioned by Napoleon, to early 20th century tour guides.
The collection is particularly strong in 18th and 19th century works."

Natural History Collection: "There are many important scientific works in the collection ranging from ornithology to horticulture to the physical sciences.
A printed catalogue specifically on the natural history collections is available for sale."

Robert Burns: "Presented to the Athenaeum in 1920, the Burns collection numbers some 450 volumes.
Among the early editions in the collection are the first Edinburgh, the first London and the second American, as well as several early imprints of individual poems and songs.
There are also bibliographies and miscellaneous literature relating to Burns."

Book Arts: "The library has many books that are notable for their excellence of design.
There are examples of the development of books from the middle ages to the modern day.
The library owns two medieval manuscripts and eight incunabula (books printed before 1501) that are part of the book arts collection."
In addition to the books available for circulation, the Special Collections of the Philbrick rare book room holds texts dating back to the library's Colonial Era origins:
Founder's Collection: 70 of 345 volumes from the Providence Library Company's (1753-1836) original collection survived the fire of Christmas Eve, 1758. The majority of these remain in the collection.
Archives: The institutional records of the library, starting with the foundation of the Providence Library Company in 1753.
Holder Borden Bowen Collection: Holder Borden Bowen donation of about 2,000 volumes on "folklore, memoirs, 17th and 18th century travel and exploration, and many examples of fine printing and binding"
Pamphlet Collection: Focused mainly on the 19th century, it includes "anti-slavery and temperance tracts, Civil War items, materials related to the Indian Rights Association of Philadelphia, and many others topics such as early shipwrecks, funeral orations, feminism, local and state organizations, etc. The collection has yet to be fully catalogued."
Smithsonian Institution Publications: Materials from the library's time as a depository for the United States Government Printing Office
Old Juveniles: A collection of nearly 3,000 volumes by late 19th and early 20th-century British and American artists.
Old Fiction: "This collection includes rare editions of books by famous authors including Walt Whitman, Herman Melville and Louisa May Alcott. There are also many works printed in Providence and Boston in the 19th century and a large collection of women writers from the same period. There are many thousand titles in the collection and most are accessible via the on-line catalogue."
Costume Collection: "Comprising about 200 volumes, the costume collection contains primarily 19th and 20th century works on European costume design."
Roycroft Collection: "There are approximately 300 items from the press of the Roycrofters that flourished in East Aurora, NY from roughly 1895 to 1915. The Roycroft design was inspired by a mix of commercial interest and the arts-and crafts movement."
Travel and Exploration:" The travel and exploration collection contains c.2500 titles ranging from Ptolemy's Cosmographia (1482), to the Description de l'Egypte (1809-1822) commissioned by Napoleon, to early 20th century tour guides. The collection is particularly strong in 18th and 19th century works."
Natural History Collection: "There are many important scientific works in the collection ranging from ornithology to horticulture to the physical sciences. A printed catalogue specifically on the natural history collections is available for sale."
Robert Burns: "Presented to the Athenaeum in 1920, the Burns collection numbers some 450 volumes. Among the early editions in the collection are the first Edinburgh, the first London and the second American, as well as several early imprints of individual poems and songs. There are also bibliographies and miscellaneous literature relating to Burns."
Book Arts: "The library has many books that are notable for their excellence of design. There are examples of the development of books from the middle ages to the modern day. The library owns two medieval manuscripts and eight incunabula (books printed before 1501) that are part of the book arts collection."
Providence Athenaeum