The Special Collections of the University Library comprise a rich and diverse range of printed books and journals, archival resources and artefacts. There are several ways to search for information about our Collections:

Book catalogues

Most of the book collections are included in the following two search tools:
All acquisitions made since 1979 are included in Library Search, together with an increasing proportion of materials acquired at an earlier date.
Substantial numbers of older holdings are in the Card Catalogue Online.

Broad descriptions of the main collections are available on the Collection strengths page.

For advice on catalogues in older formats, please contact Special Collections.

Archive catalogues

The Special Collections Online Archive Catalogue contains descriptions of many of our archive collections, both at collection level and down to a more detailed level.  Many descriptions contain images, including those of the Brunel Collection, medieval manuscripts and University-related archives. 

Hard copy catalogues and indexes to the archive collections are available in Special Collections, and collection level descriptions of the principal collections can be found on the Collection strengths page. Collection level descriptions and a number of detailed catalogues can also be found on the following websites:

• Archives Hub  
• The National Archives (TNA) Discovery catalogue (includes the former Access to Archives (A2A) and National Register of Archives (NRA))