Unpublished material in a variety of formats, including typescript and manuscript copies of journals, memoirs and autobiographies written by missionaries, and biographical accounts prepared by their descendants; histories of particular churches/chapels and missions; manuscript vocabularies, dictionaries and grammars prepared by missionaries in the field; scrapbooks, cuttings and collections of articles; book catalogues; photograph albums, and art work including bound collections of watercolours, paintings and scrolls. The collection represents material accumulated by missionaries and staff of the London Missionary Society during the course of their work from the early 19th century to the mid-1970s, with some material donated at a later date.
As with the published material, the manuscripts in the Council for World Mission Library are an important resource on the history of the London Missionary Society. More broadly, the material illustrates many aspects of Christian mission and the experience of western missionaries in their fields (Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific). Subjects covered include theology, history, anthropology and cultural studies, politics and linguistics.