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Special Collections

Special Collections

Image of Barker Research Library Search Room
Designated as an Outstanding Collection logo

 

Founded in 1833 and occupying listed buildings within the Durham World Heritage site, the Palace Green Library of Durham University houses archives, early printed books and other special collections. There are:

  • Over 70,000 books printed before 1850 including 300 incunables
  • Over 100 Medieval manuscripts
  • 3,400 metres of archives and artefacts
  • Over 30,000 maps and prints and 100,000 photographs

We are open to anyone needing to consult our collections once they have registered with us.

Two of the University Library's special collections were awarded Designated status in 2005 in the first round of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council Designation Scheme. 

Events

On Seeing the Author: Portraits in Libraries from Antiquity to the Present
Monday 2nd March 2015 - Monday 16th March 2015, 12:00am - 11:59pm, History of the Book Gallery
Vietnam: A Nation not a War
Monday 2nd March 2015 - Monday 16th March 2015, 12:00am - 11:59pm, Dennyson Stoddart Gallery
Living on the Hills: 10,000 years of Durham
, Wolfson Gallery
Little Bookworms
Monday 2nd March 2015, 10:30am - 11:30am, Wolfson Gallery
Brilliant Books
Saturday 7th March 2015, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Brilliant Books
Sunday 8th March 2015, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Little Bookworms
Monday 9th March 2015, 10:30am - 11:30am, Wolfson Gallery
The Unruly Matter of Man: Matter and the Human According to the Twelfth-Century Platonists
Tuesday 10th March 2015, 5:30pm, Learning Centre, Professor Mary Franklin-Brown
Dangerous Dinosaurs
Saturday 14th March 2015, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Dangerous Dinosaurs
Sunday 15th March 2015, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
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News

Vietnam: A Nation not a War

New exhibition opening 30 January 2015

This exhibition mixes historic and contemporary objects from Vietnam with contemporary works by British artist Anthony Key to explore national identity, migration, cultural diversity, faith and belonging in Vietnam. Building on research currently being undertaken at Durham University, the exhibition looks beyond stereotypes and familiar associations with the Vietnam War to bring the Vietnamese nation and its diverse ethnic groups to life for the visitor.

(19 Jan 2015) » Find out more about: Vietnam: A Nation not a War

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Contact details

Special Collections
Palace Green Library
Palace Green
DURHAM
DH1 3RN
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)191 334 2972
Email: pg.library@durham.ac.uk