Special Collections
Re-opening of Special Collections Reader Service
We are delighted to announce that, following the relocation of the Library’s Department of Special Collections to its temporary home on the North Haugh, we are now open again for personal research. Reader space is very limited in our new facilities, and it is therefore important to note that access to the Reading Room will be strictly by appointment only.
To make an appointment, please either email to speccoll@st-andrews.ac.uk or telephone Ext. 2339. (The telephone may not always be answered immediately, but the voicemail messages will be checked and responded to regularly.) You should provide us with your preferred date and as much detail as you can of what you wish to consult. We will be open between 9.30 and 5.30, and staff will discuss with you an appropriate time and duration of visit. Directions to the new facility will be supplied when bookings are made. Postcard directions (PDF, 585 KB)
All of the collections have been re-located, and some have had to be outstored due to shortage of space in the temporary premises. Fetch times may therefore be more extended than previously, our ability to fetch on demand will be very limited, a small amount of material may be unavailable or may take up to 24 hours to retrieve, and there may also have to be limits on how much material can be consulted at any one time. We therefore ask our readers to bear with us; we welcome feedback on our new facilities and procedures.
Welcome to the Special Collections Department of the University of St Andrews Library.
The Department is home to the Library's collections of rare and early printed books, manuscripts, photographs and the University's institutional archive (muniments). These form a superb resource for research and teaching in a wide variety of disciplines across the arts and science.
Our aims are:
- to preserve and develop the collections in our care
- to make the collections accessible to both academic and public audiences
- to market the Department's services and resources
- to support the Library's strategic mission, and the University's aims of excellence in teaching, learning and research.
Treasures book
Special Collections have produced a book on Treasures of St Andrews University Library, featuring 50 items from the collections, with an article and colour photographs for each one. Click here for more details.
How to use the Department
There is a supervised Reading Room that is open for use by visiting scholars and the general public as well as staff and students of the University.
Facilities include 6 reader places with power points for personal computers, microfilm and microfiche reader and printer, scanning and photographic services.
To register as a reader:
You do not need to be a registered reader of the University Library. You will be asked to fill in a small registration form, and to provide identification, on your first visit to the department. Thereafter, the books or manuscripts that you request will be brought to you, and you must abide by the regulations for the use of the Reading Room. Follow the link for details of Opening hours and vacation closures.
Registration as a user of Special Collections does not give you borrowing rights in the Main Library, but you are welcome to use its reference facilities.
Access to any book or manuscript is at the discretion of the staff, but use of individual items would normally only be refused for reasons such as physical fragility, or their (rare) absence due to loan or exhibition.
Enquiries:
Postal and e-mail enquiries may be made to the Department, although we are limited in the extent to which research can be carried out on behalf of enquirers. There are no research or access charges.
Readers requiring research assistance, or those who wish to view items from the Photographic Collections, are advised to make prior appointments.
If you want to come to St Andrews to research your family history, the genealogy page will tell you whether we have material of relevance to you.
Location
The Special Collections Department is now located on the North Haugh, at the north end of St Andrews, behind New Hall and Chemistry. We are no. 33a on the University Map, grid reference E3. Click here for Postcard directions (PDF, 585 KB).
Parking is available at New Hall, where there are also a cafe and toilets.