Because they are very fragile, Emily Dickinson’s manuscripts, letters, and personal books are all restricted, meaning that they can only be used by permission of the Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts, and only when you specifically need to use the original items. However, there are a wealth of ways for you to use our Emily Dickinson materials, both online and in person.
You can use poems and letters from our collection and those at other libraries through the Emily Dickinson Archive. Additionally, her Herbarium has been digitized. If you prefer physical copies, both the Herbarium and Dickinson’s handwritten poetry have been published by Harvard University Press and are available through Harvard Library.
The books from the Dickinson family library are described in a finding aid, and in many cases, we have copies of the same editions available for you to use in our Reading Room. Search HOLLIS for particular books you are interested in. The Dickinson family papers (documents written by other members of the Dickinson family) are available for you to request and use in our Reading Room as well.
To visit the Dickinson books, along with furniture and other objects from the Dickinson family, join a tour of Houghton, offered on Fridays at 2:00 pm and other times by appointment.