Established in 1985, the mission of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is to evaluate, acquire, organize, preserve, and make available materials that promote the unique history and culture of the African diaspora, with emphasis on Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry, and beyond. The Avery Research Center opened in 1990 and became affiliated with the College of Charleston due to efforts undertaken by alumnae of the Avery Normal Institute. The Center accessions printed material, manuscript records, and artifacts that supports its mission and has collections from the 19th century to the present, with collections documenting Civil Rights, labor movements, education, and church records.

The Special Collections Department of the College of Charleston was founded to support the teaching and learning mission of the College of Charleston and to promote scholarship on the South Carolina Lowcountry and the broader Atlantic World. It is located on the third floor of the Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library. Its holdings include over 600 manuscript collections related to the history and culture of the South Carolina Lowcountry, the archives of the College of Charleston, the Spoleto Festival Archives, and more than 40,000 rare books and pamphlets. The primary mission of Special Collections is to evaluate, acquire, organize, preserve, and make available regionally significant and/or rare printed and archival materials to support the college curriculum and student, faculty, and patron research. Special Collections faculty and staff are committed to utilizing a collaborative, multi-faceted approach in support of that mission and are dedicated to employing established best practices to enhance access to our collections. Special Collections envisions itself as an incubator for research through the stewardship of and access to the diverse histories of our institution, communities, and beyond. We encourage curiosity, enhance discovery, stimulate critical thinking, and provide innovative and collaborative approaches to scholarship, access, and pedagogy.