How to Request Materials

All materials in Special Collections and the Bill Douglas Centre are consulted in the Special Collections Reading Room. 

Rare Books

Requests for rare books can be made via email in advance to our Special Collections email address, or in person at the Reading Room during your visit. If the items you are requesting are from the Bill Douglas Centre please email the Centre direct

If you are requesting a long list of books please contact Special Collections in advance to ensure that all your requests are ready for you on the day.  On visiting the reading room, all readers are required to complete a separate request slip for each book ordered. This only takes a few moments and staff will assist you in completing the slips. You can make requests for additional books whilst in the Reading Room and these will take approximately 10 minutes to arrive, or a little longer during busy periods. You can consult up to six books at a time at your desk, unless the material is particularly rare, large or fragile, when one item will be issued at a time. For rare and fragile material the Reading Room supervisor will advise on handling and care.

Archives, Manuscripts and Artefacts 

All requests for archives and other non-book material - including print ephemera and artefacts - must be made in advance of your visit to avoid disappointment, as it is rarely possible to provide access to this type of material on demand.

Please provide as much advance notice of your intended visit as possible, at least 24 hours, with full details of your research needs and the items you wish to consult. You can check our catalogues for information on what we hold.  All archives, manuscripts and artefacts have an unique reference number to identify them which you will need to quote. Note that Data Protection restrictions and Freedom of Information exemptions may also apply to some archive collections, meaning that access can only be negotiated with the Acting Head of Archives and Special Collections well in advance of your visit.

Contacts 

Bill Douglas Centre  bdc@exeter.ac.uk / 01392 724321

Archives and Special Collections libspc@exeter.ac.uk / 01392 722097 or 01392 723879