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Archives and Special Collections: Other Collections and Sources: On Open Shelves

Our collections

We hold a number of collections of modern printed books and microfilms on open shelves within the Barker Research Library.  These may be consulted by academic and public users. All items are reference only and the collection is not borrowable to ensure that it is always available for use by readers. Some duplicate borrowable items are held at the Bill Bryson Library. The open access material is generally post 1860:  earlier books, plus particularly important, vulnerable or fragile books are held within the Special Collections and have to be ordered for consultation within our search room.

The most important collections on our open shelves are:

Availability online (digital images)

These collections have not been digitised, so that only the catalogues are currently available online.

If you would like to purchase digital copies of specific items from any of our collections, please get in touch.

If you are a member of teaching staff at Durham University and would like to use material from Archives and Special Collections within your lectures or seminars, we may be able to scan or photograph items for this purpose.  Please contact us as early as possible with any teaching digitisation requests.

See also our guide to Digitised Collections Online for further information on our digital resources.

Access to original sources

The collections mentioned above are located at Palace Green Library.  Our current opening hours are as follows, by appointment only (see below).

  • Monday to Thursday: 10am to 4:30pm
  • Saturday: closed
  • Sunday: closed

See separate Libraries and Site Information guide for further information on Palace Green Library, and for disruption due to roofing works during 2024-2025, visit our guide

Appointments are required for all visits, please use the enquiry form to book.  Appointments need to be made at least three working days in advance, and we will need to know the full list of document references or shelfmarks of the items you wish to consult before we can confirm your booking. If you are unsure of how to do this or need assistance please contact us and we will be happy to help.