Archives Hub Contributors

The Library has been collecting manuscripts since its earliest days to fulfil its role of supporting the teaching and research of the University. In 1959 a Manuscripts Department was established for the care of this type of material. The Department acted as a local archive repository in the absence of a Fife County Archive (established in 2000). The University Muniment Collection - the non-current records of the institution itself and its constituent colleges - is currently held within the manuscripts department, under the care of the keeper of Muniments, which post is at present combined with that of Keeper of Manuscripts. However, the older post of Keeper of Muniments has been in existence since at least the 1890s. The Manuscripts department is part of the Special Collections Department which administers a variety of Special Collections including Rare Books, Manuscripts, Muniments and Photographic collections. These share a supervised Reading Room which is open for use by staff and students of the University, visiting scholars and the general public. Facilities include 24 reader places with power points for personal computers, microfilm and microfiche readers and printers, photocopying and photographic services.

The department holds an eclectic collection of manuscripts, ranging in date and subject from Greek papyri and medieval philosophical treatises to modern business records. The manuscripts are of widely varying nature: single volumes, letters or documents, as well as collections relating to individuals, families and institutions, organizations and movements. Most manuscripts are owned by the Library, but some are deposited by their owners under terms and conditions which vary widely. The Muniment collection contains material dating from 1215. It is divided into several parts: the records of the University as a body, of its constituent colleges and of the Library. St Andrews University Library holds one of the largest and most important collections of historic photography in Scotland, stemming primarily from the fact that St Andrews played a vital role in the development of the photographic process through the early interest of Sir David Brewster and his friendship with William Henry Fox Talbot. There is an ongoing programme of digitization of the images.

Special features: Trees, Around the Campfire

Address: St Andrews University Library, North Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TR

Telephone: (+44) (0)1334 462339 (for all Special Collections enquiries and information)

Email: speccoll@st-andrews.ac.uk (Special Collections) Web: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/specialcollections

Browse the University of St Andrews' descriptions

Show list of the University of St Andrews' descriptions