The Theatre Collection library has over 25,000 books on many aspects of theatre. 

Our books and journals are catalogued on the University of Bristol Library catalogue. The majority of our books are openly available for browsing but we also have approximately 3000 books in our Rare Book Collection where items may only be accessed by request. Rare books may be, for example, those published pre-1900, from a limited print run, published by a private press or they may be unusual. These books are catalogued onto the University of Bristol Library catalogue along with the main Theatre Collection library books but they are not on the open access shelves. Our rare books are held off-site, so you will need to request rare books at least one week in advance of visiting.

All books are reference only and may not be removed from the Theatre Collection without the permission of Theatre Collection staff. Please note that we do not participate in the InterLibrary Loan Scheme, but we may be able to copy material for you on request.

We have very few on-site journals. The rest of the journals are available via the University of Bristol Library. The journals available to access at the Theatre Collection are:

• The Era: 1850-1851, 1862-1863, 1866, 1869, 1870, 1873-1878, 1880-1894, 1895-1919 (NB. Missing Jan-Jun 1891, 1893, Jul-Dec 1894, 1913 & 1914)
• The Mask (Edward Gordon Craig): 1908-1929
• The Yellow Book: 1894 - 1897
• Play Pictorial: 1902-1939
• Plays and Players: 1929-1930 and 1953-2000