Special Collections research

Our Special Collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives, visual materials and maps are amongst the most important primary sources in the UK.

They have enormous research potential across many disciplines.

Discover more about these remarkable collections and how they can support your research:

We are working hard to make our outstanding Special Collections more accessible to researchers.

You can access our Special Collections both in person and through our online, digital collections.

The Library’s Special Collections team includes curators with great expertise in supporting research.

Opening up the University of Manchester Library’s Special Collections to multidisciplinary research.