XClose

Library Services

Home
Menu

Special Collections

Everyone can access Special Collections digitally or in person. Our collections of rare, unique and historic archives & books cover themes including history of , education, arts and sciences.

Collection Highlights

Finding Material

  • You can search for rare books and other printed material on Explore.
  • Archives and manuscripts are found on the .
  • Search for digitised and digital content on Digital Collections.

For more information and video tutorials on how to use these resources to find material held by Special Collections, learn about Our Collections.


News from our blog

Our new Main Library exhibition “Hidden in Plain Sight: Liberating our Library Collections” is now open! The exhibition is free and open to members of the public.

The following was adapted from text written by Erika Delbecque and Tabitha Tuckett for the 2023 exhibition catalogue Hidden in Plain Sight: Liberating our Library Collections, which will be available online at the end of March. The Main Library exhibition Hidden in Plain Sight will also be opening at the end of March. Keep an eye out for an opening date announcement coming soon!

Leah Johnston, Cataloguing Archivist (Records), explores documents in the College Archives relating to the history of ’s Wilkins Building

Photo of Kelmscott School students viewing a large folio-sized diagram of the River Thames, at  East.

This post was written by Dr Shirin Hirsch, who was one of the 2022 RIC Visiting Fellows.

Bengali lives are at risk whilst they are at Morpeth – we are punched, kicked and spat on. Enough is enough.

The New Curators Project is an annual programme run by Special Collections and . It offers 10 young adults in East London the chance to develop the skills and experience needed to start a career in the cultural heritage sector.

George Bellas Greenough inherited a fortune at the age of 16 and, as a rich man in his 20s, decided to devote his life to the study of geology. He is best-known for his Geological Map of England and Wales, published in 1820, which used new data and an innovative colouring system to highlight deposits of different types of rocks and minerals. He later became a controversial figure due to his clashes with William Smith, another geologist who had also made a very similar geological map at almost exactly the same time.

This post has been co-authored with

Special Collections and the Research Institute for Collections are delighted to announce that we have appointed two inaugural RIC Visiting Fellows. The Fellowship programme is an opportunity for external researchers to visit for up to six weeks to conduct research on a topic centred on our holdings of archives, rare books, and records.

This blog was written by Katie Meheux.

Pages