Close
UCL Library Special Collections is one of the foremost university collections of manuscripts, archives and rare books in the UK.
Collection Highlights
Archives
UCL's archive and manuscript collections include the UNESCO registered George Orwell Archive.
Records
Map of Bloomsbury, 1800 College Collection.
Exhibitions
View current and past exhibitions online.
Rare Books
The Ratdolt edition of Euclid's 'Elements', 1482.
Treasures from UCL
View 'Treasures from UCL', available for free online.
Finding Material
- You can search for rare books and other printed material on Explore.
- Archives and manuscripts are found on the Archives Catalogue.
- 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 UCL Special Collections, learn about Our Collections.
News from our blog
Early Modern Women and Printing
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!
‘The first stone’: 197 years of UCL
Leah Johnston, Cataloguing Archivist (Records), explores documents in the College Archives relating to the history of UCL’s Wilkins Building
Young people against racism in 1980s London schools
This post was written by Dr Shirin Hirsch, who was one of the 2022 UCL 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 2023 is Open for Applications!
The New Curators Project is an annual programme run by UCL Special Collections and Newham Heritage Month. 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 Greenough’s papers – a window into the worlds of 19th-century science, wealth, and empire
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.
“We Are Not Alone”: Legacies of Eugenics in Education and Society
This post has been co-authored with Professor Marius Turda.
RIC Visiting Fellows appointed
UCL Special Collections and the UCL 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 UCL for up to six weeks to conduct research on a topic centred on our holdings of archives, rare books, and records.
Digitising the Annual Reports of the Institute of Archaeology, Volumes 1-13 (1938-1958)
This blog was written by Katie Meheux.
Liberating the Collections 2022: A Volunteer’s Experience of Searching UCL Special Collections
This guest blog post was written by Jane McChrystal , who spent five months volunteering at UCL Special Collections as part of the Liberating the Collections project.