Books

Special Collections holds over 250,000 books which are kept because of their age, value, or rarity. Books are not available to browse on open shelves, so researchers use the catalogue to see what we have. Catalogue records describe individual books, and can also give information on book's wider context. Books may be acquired individually, and catalogued according to the library's scheme of arrangement. Others might be acquired as part of a collection, and are kept in an order which reflects this.

Books in Special Collections may also be available digitally, or in other editions. Although digitisation does allows wider access, it can also be useful to see a book in person. Books may have copy specific features - previous owners may have written on pages, for example. The physical properties of a book can also tell researchers about its original purpose, intended audience or use over time.

Image credit Leeds University Library