The Special Collections serve as an archival repository for historical materials which are neither official University records nor faculty papers, but which relate to the history of the geographical region of which YSU is a part. This includes the city of Youngstown, the Mahoning County, and the Mahoning Valley. The Special Collections collect, preserve, and provide access to primary and secondary source materials that document the history of the larger city-county-regional area of which YSU exists.

For a more detailed description of special collections materials collected by the YSU Special Collections, please refer to the Description of Collections section of the Acquisition Policy.