Accessing our Physical Collections
Introduction
The University of Manchester’s Special Collections are stored on three sites: the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, the Main Library on the Oxford Road campus, and the AIU RACE Centre at Manchester Central Library. Most Special Collections are held at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library.
Collections held at the Main Library include the archives of the University of Manchester, Christian Brethren Archives, the Map collection, many scientific and medical archives, and post-1800 medical books.
Booking an appointment
Researchers can book appointments to access material in the Special Collections Reading Rooms at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library and the Main Library. We offer a closed-access reader service which means that items must be pre-ordered and can only be viewed in our reading rooms; you cannot request material on the day.
To book an in person or online appointment, please email the reading room team at: uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk
Limited spaces are available, and it is essential to contact us at least three days in advance of any visit. This allows us to check an item’s condition, arrange any permission for access with its archivist or curator, and have it ready on your arrival.
For the latest information on opening hours, please see these pages on the Library’s website:
- Using Special Collections at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library:
- Using Special Collections at the Main Library:
Requests for access to modern (post-1914) archives must be made well in advance of your visit, so that an archivist can check the material and decide whether it can be made available subject to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Some special material from the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre may need to be consulted in the Central Library Search Room. Please contact the centre directly at least one day in advance of your visit: rrarchive@manchester.ac.uk.
- The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah’s opening hours are available on the Library’s website:
Our catalogues
Before booking an appointment, please ensure you provide as much information as possible about the items/collections you would like to view. Our catalogues can be accessed from this page. The search bar at the top of the page is the best place to start, and is particularly strong for printed materials. Our archives catalogues are found here, along with a list of our published manuscript catalogues.
The A-Z of our collections is a very useful resource, with each collection including a list of its finding aids. You can also find our collections grouped by subject here.
You can find more information on using ELGAR in this video below:
The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre archive and library collections are held and catalogued separately. A complete list of their collections can be viewed here. Their books and publications can be searched from the Manchester Libraries search page: use the ‘advanced search’ function and refine your search by selecting ‘Race Relations Research Centre’ in ‘location’. Collection level archive catalogues can also be accessed online via Archives Hub.
Membership
Anyone wanting to use our Special Collections has to register as a reader in advance. Library membership is open to everyone over the age of 16, and readers can register online here.
Some items from the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre can be borrowed. To do this you will need to join Manchester Libraries — this is free to anyone living in the UK.
Digital Appointments
Digital appointments are now available to all readers. You can book a digital appointment to view a small amount of Special Collections material held at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library or the Main Library via a Zoom call.
Readers who are unable to visit the Library in person can request a Digital Appointment. Here we arrange a Zoom meeting and train a visualiser (a camera-like device) on the material, broadcasting it over the call. Such appointments are best suited either to small amounts of material, where a specific piece of information is sought, or to browse through larger amounts before placing an order with our Imaging team. For further information please email our team and they will check an item’s suitability for this service.
To see the visualiser service in action, watch the video below:
The University of Manchester digitised Special Collections material is made available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 4.0) wherever possible. For further information on digital images and to request high resolution copies please contact our imaging team.
