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Special Collections

Special Collections

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

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

  • 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. Registration here involves completing a form, providing proofs of identity and agreeing to abide by the Library's rules (please contact us if you require further information on this)

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

Bodies of Evidence Castle Tour
Sunday 22nd July 2018 - Tuesday 21st August 2018, 12:00am - 11:59pm, Palace Green Library & Durham Castle
Reconstruction
Sunday 22nd July 2018, 12:00am - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Bodies of Evidence: How science unearthed Durham’s dark secret
Sunday 22nd July 2018 - Tuesday 21st August 2018, 12:00am - 11:59pm, Palace Green Library
THE DLI COLLECTION GALLERY: COURAGE, COMRADES, COMMUNITY
Sunday 22nd July 2018 , 12:00am
Living on the Hills: 10,000 years of Durham
, Wolfson Gallery
Little Bookworms
Monday 23rd July 2018, 10:30am - 11:30am, Palace Green Library
Vote 100: Pop-up Puppet
Saturday 28th July 2018 - Sunday 29th July 2018, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Little Bookworms
Monday 30th July 2018, 10:30am - 11:30am, Palace Green Library
Reading the human body: wounds, bones and medical knowledge in the 17th century
Monday 30th July 2018, 3:30pm - 4:30pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
The Scottish Army in 1650
Monday 30th July 2018, 6:00pm - 7:30pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
Bodies of Evidence Castle Tour
Tuesday 31st July 2018, 11:15am - 12:05pm, Palace Green Library & Durham Castle
Digging up Bones: how archaeologists deal with the dead
Tuesday 31st July 2018, 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
Bodies of Evidence Castle Tour
Tuesday 31st July 2018, 1:15pm - 2:05pm, Palace Green Library & Durham Castle
Behind the Scenes at the Department of Archaeology
Tuesday 31st July 2018, 2:30pm - 4:00pm, Department of Archaeology, South Road, DH1 3LE
Seventeenth Century Living History Weekend
Saturday 4th August 2018 - Sunday 5th August 2018, 11:00am - 5:00pm, Palace Green
Family Tree
Saturday 4th August 2018 - Sunday 5th August 2018, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Little Bookworms
Monday 6th August 2018, 10:30am - 11:30am, Palace Green Library
Face to face with the Scottish soldiers – how skeleton science pieced together their story
Tuesday 7th August 2018, 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
Skeleton Science: how human remains can unlock hidden histories
Tuesday 7th August 2018, 2:30pm - 3:30pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
Adult Storytelling Event with Heather Yule
Friday 10th August 2018, 7:00pm - 9:00pm, Palace Green Library (The Courtyard Café)
Family Storytelling Event with Heather Yule
Saturday 11th August 2018, 11:00am - 4:00pm, Palace Green Library (Wolfson Gallery)
Pasta Skeleton
Saturday 11th August 2018 - Sunday 12th August 2018, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Little Bookworms
Monday 13th August 2018, 10:30am - 11:30am, Palace Green Library
Reconstructing the face of a seventeenth century Scottish soldier
Monday 13th August 2018, 6:00pm - 7:30pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
People, places and religion
Tuesday 14th August 2018, 2:30pm - 3:30pm, Palace Green Library (Learning Centre)
Lucet Weaving
Saturday 18th August 2018 - Sunday 19th August 2018, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Palace Green Library
Little Bookworms
Monday 20th August 2018, 10:30am - 11:30am, Palace Green Library
Evening Exhibition Tour
Monday 20th August 2018, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Palace Green Library
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News

The Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship programme

Prince Abbas Hilmi, Chairman of the Trustees of the Mohamed Ali Foundation, Professor Anoush Ehteshami, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Corbridge, at the inauguration of the Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship programme on 29 June 2018.

The 9-year Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship programme was inaugurated on 29 June with the donation to the university of £114,000 by the Foundation. Fellows will research the Abbas Hilmi II Papers and produce lectures and ultimately an edited volume in 2027.

(13 Jul 2018) » Find out more about: Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship

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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