Search the Collections
Arrangement
The Western manuscripts can be broadly divided into four classes:
Two-letter class
The original holdings of the Library’s manuscript department. Mainly, but not wholly, made up of medieval and early modern manuscripts.
Additional class
Items deposited from the mid nineteenth century onwards and mostly containing material dating from then until the modern day, though also containing items dating from medieval times onwards.
Named collections
Larger collections mostly dating from the Victorian period and later.
Doc class
Originally items such as title deeds, manorial court records, and accounting papers, but now includes a much wider range of material.
Information on the Library’s Asian & Near and Middle and Eastern collections can be found here.
Subject Guides
Our subject guides can be accessed here.
Alphabetical Listing
An alphabetical list of some of our important collections with links to further information can be found here.
Searching the Collections
Online searching is available for many, but not all of our collections, as follows:
The Two-letter class can be searched using our catalogue available on the Internet Archive:
Vol. 1
Vol. 2 Vol. 3
Vol. 4
Vol. 5 Index
Our Additional class catalogue can be found on the Janus website here. This online catalogue does not include entries for all the collections in this class, but is continually being updated.
Janus also holds catalogues for:
Royal Greenwich Observatory
University Archives
Many items from the Additional class and the Named collections can be found via the following websites:
Archives Hub
National Register of Archives
Access to Archives
A detailed guide to finding aids to the medieval manuscripts is available in the Manuscripts Reading Room and online.
Hard copy catalogues of many of our important collections and an extensive card index to the collection as a whole are located in the Manuscripts Reading Room. You can find details of what is available by following the links to the different classes above.