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Everyone can access UCL Special Collections digitally or in person. Our collections of rare, unique and historic archives & books cover themes including history of UCL, education, arts and sciences.
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
Call for a Small Press in Residence at UCL Special Collections
Call for Applications
Changes to our exhibitions and installations
2026 marks UCL’s bicentenary and in preparation for the upcoming celebrations, UCL is undertaking work to renovate the Main Quad and central areas of the Wilkins Building throughout 2025. Additional information about expected construction work is available on the Bicentennial Physical Legacy website.
Recent Acquisitions at UCL Special Collections
written by Kathryn Hannan and Kaja Marczewska
At UCL, we actively develop our Special Collections through acquisitions, by donation, bequest, transfer, and purchase. We add to our collections regularly, across our collecting priorities, to enhance, complement, and diversify our existing holdings for research and teaching.
The New Curators Project 2025 – Applications are now closed
The New Curators Project is an annual programme run by UCL Special Collections. 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.
Update: applications are now closed, but you can register your interest to hear when we begin recruitment for The Curators Project 2026.
Research Institute for Collections Fellowships 2025
The UCL Research Institute for Collections (RIC) is inviting applications for the 2025 RIC Fellowships. In addition to the Special Collections Visiting Fellowship and Liberating the Collections Fellowship we are delighted to announce the new Museums Collections Fellowship.
The RIC Fellowships offer opportunities to visit UCL to conduct research using the UCL holdings of archives, rare books, records, and museums collections.
“Yet but scantily peopled”: Teaching decolonising histories by re-reading children’s textbooks in imperial peripheries and in the metropole
This post is by Pia Russell, who was was awarded the ‘Liberating the Collections Visiting Fellowship’ by the Research Institute for Collections in 2023.
The ‘reprint revolution’ and cultures of 20th c. Black publishing
Please note that this blog post contains historic uses of language which is outdated, offensive, and discriminatory. The language is retained in its original context and does not represent views of UCL Special Collections. We are commitment to contextualising and addressing dated and harmful languages in our collecting practice, collection documentation, teaching, and engagement activities.
Independent Black publishing and UCL’s collecting practices
This post was written by Liz Lawes, Subject Liaison Librarian: Fine Art, History of Art, Film Studies and Collection Manager: Small Press Collections, UCL Special Collections.
UCL’s Small Press Collections, held by UCL Special Collections, are globally important holdings of independently produced and distributed literary little magazines, experimental poetry, avant-garde artists’ and countercultural publications, and supporting bibliographic and archival material.
Reprinting Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Please note that this blog post contains historic uses of language, which is outdated, offensive, and
2024 Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize Winners announced!
We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize, which was set up to encourage student book collectors at any London university. We received around twenty submissions representing a total of seven institutions, with collection themes ranging from military manuals from the Edwardian period to 20th-century lesbian literature and mountain and polar travel books
