University of St Andrews Library
University of St Andrews Library boasts extensive collections dating back 600 years, with over 1 million volumes and historical archives.
The University of St Andrews Library in Scotland is one of the oldest university libraries in the United Kingdom, dating back to the early 15th century. It houses a vast collection of rare books, manuscripts, photographs and institutional archives. The collections are open to the public by appointment only, book by emailing unicolls@st-andrews.ac.uk at least seven days before you would like to visit, since items have to be pre-ordered for consultation.
Rare books and manuscripts
The collection includes over 200,000 printed books ranging in date from the 15th to 21st centuries and manuscript and printed maps, which includes sheet maps and those in books such as atlases. It also has a small collection of oriental and eastern manuscripts as well as other records and publications.
Photography archive
The University of St Andrews began collecting photography in 1844, and now holds approximately a million examples, including negatives on glass and film of varying sizes, lantern slides, prints ranging from salt paper to modern processes, as well as postcards and transparencies.
Time to spare? You may also like St Andrews Museum which is a short walk from the University of St Andrews.
Visitor information
Address
North Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TR
01334 462339
Opening times
Please visit the University of St Andrews Library website for opening times. Please also note that visits should be arranged in advance, since items have to be pre-ordered for consultation.
