Special Collections Library at Cleveland State University
In order to help the rail enthusiasts in the Cleveland/Akron and Northern Ohio area with the large goal of seeing to it that railroad history and artifacts are preserved for the use of future generations, NOARS is assisting by directing potential donors toward the Special Collections section of Cleveland State University. Special Collections, in turn, is processing, exhibiting and housing the collections in its modern, centrally located library.

As of January 2000, the library has amassed the following significant collections having major railroad content:

Making Tracks for Cleveland's Railroad Past
There has been a growing feeling that an organization of this nature has been long needed. For Special Collections, NOARS is helping the college to seek donations of railroad company archives; runs of Midwestern railroad periodicals; records of railroad unions; original photographs involving railroads; records and publications of railroad clubs and historical societies; railroad guides and directories covering the Midwest, and books on Midwestern railroads that do not duplicate its current holdings. Also the CSU library is interested in materials on interurbans, street railways, and trolleys. Transit material will be an additional focus for Special Collections at Cleveland State.

The library now serves as a repository for rare books, original manuscripts, photographs, maps, architectural drawings, and other materials appropriate to the study of Ohio and the Midwest. It has just been expanded to house much more railroad memorabilia including personal correspondence, diaries, account books, and organizational records relating to Ohio. The section also wishes to feature a book collection.