Collections
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives holds more than one million volumes and over 6,000 archival collections that document war, revolution, and peace and social, political, and economic change that shaped our world in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Search Our Collections
Our collections contain rare and unique library materials and archives that include posters, photographs, texts, sound recordings, moving images, and art and memorabilia.
Documenting war, revolution, and peace, along with political, social, and economic change in the modern era, our collections come from across the globe and in many formats and languages. Search and discover rare materials from all political persuasions which highlight a spectrum of voices and experiences that shaped the 20th and 21st centuries. Personal papers form the bulk of our collections, however we also have extensive photographica, digital records, rare publications, and other formats spanning roughly 30 miles of shelving and evergrowing terabytes of data.
Collecting Areas
Our curators oversee and actively acquire collections which currently originate from 171 countries.
Featured News
News
Hoover Institution Acquires Photo Album of US Corporate Executive’s Visit to Europe and the USSR in 1963
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives has acquired a photo album presented to Norman Buckle Obbard, who was a United States businessman and participant in the Time news tour of Europe in November 1963.
Press
Diaries Of Chiang Kai-Shek And Chiang Ching-Kuo Return To Taiwan, Copies Remain At The Hoover Institution Library & Archives
After almost two decades on deposit for scholarly research at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives, the handwritten diaries of the Republic of China (Taiwan)’s former president Chiang Kai-shek (1887—1975) and his son and successor Chiang Ching-kuo (1910—1988) returned to Taiwan this week.
News
Newly Cataloged Library Materials August 2023
Materials featured in this month’s Newly Cataloged Library Materials article include propaganda newspaper issues from Russia and Ukraine published in 2022, materials related to the German victory at the Stalin Line during World War II, a 1919 map of Hungary and territorial borders, and a book on the role of women in early 20th century Russian society.
News
Hoover Institution Archives Receives Additional Documents On General Pai Ch’ung-Hsi, Antagonist Of Nationalist Chinese Leader Chiang Kai-Shek
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives received additional documents on General Pai Ch’ung-hsi which include archival materials related to Pai’s relationship with Chiang Kai-shek and other Nationalist leaders, memorabilia, speeches, and miscellaneous materials related to General Pai and his family.
News
Hoover Institution Acquires the Papers of George Synnerberg
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives has acquired the papers of George Synnerberg, who was a Russian Imperial Army officer and trade representative of Swedish-Finnish origin. The numerous documents and photographs that form this archival collection reflect his fascinating life story.
News
Hoover Institution Hosts The 2023 Annual Summer Workshop On Modern China And Taiwan
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives hosted the 2023 Workshop on Modern China and Taiwan. Workshop participants explored Hoover’s unique archival collections and presented their findings to the Hoover and Stanford research community and a broad audience.
Featured Collections
Japan and Japanese Diaspora Collections
These collections focus on social, political, and economic change from the Meiji (1868–1911) to post–World War II reconstruction (1945–52) periods in Japan and overseas Japanese communities.
Ukraine Collections
Covering the emergence and development of Ukraine as an independent state since 1991, as well as earlier periods.
Chiang Kai-shek & Chiang Ching-kuo Diaries
The Hoover Institution has been helping preserve the handwritten diaries of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo since Chiang family members deposited them at Hoover in 2005.
Policies & Practices
We continue to advance Herbert Hoover’s mission by fulfilling our strategic priorities of acquiring important historical collections on war, revolution, and peace. Our collections deal in subjects that encompass a broad range of human experiences. Policies and practices are in place to ensure that materials are cared for and made available for their ongoing use. Learn more about collection donations, description, digitization, preservation practices, and potentially harmful language and visual materials.
