Contact Information Melinda Hayesspecol@usc.edu (213) 740 5141 Location Special Collections DML Room 209 Overview The Hancock Collections and Archives comprises approximately 78,000 volumes of books and periodicals published between 1525 and 1944. Most of the collection was acquired by Captain G. Allan Hancock with his purchase of the Boston Society of Natural History library in 1944. Additions to the collection since then have focused on marine biology, oceanographic expeditions and Antarctic research. The Hancock Collection covers a broad spectrum of scientific research, including botany, geology, microscopy, evolution, voyages and explorations, zoology and bacteriology. Lavishly illustrated books, important scientific works and rare journals from past centuries abound. A Bibliography of the Hancock Natural History Collection has been compiled by the curator and is available on the Internet. In addition, access to this collection is provided through Homer, USC Libraries online catalog. The Natural History Collection is housed within Special Collections in the Doheny Memorial Library.