Library Records

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Aim of this Research Guide

This guide is the result of a ten-week project looking at the pre-Enlightenment and Enlightenment records of the University Library. It lists research questions that scholars, students or members of the public might have about the library’s history, the university, or topics such as early book history or library management. It is intended as a complement to the online catalogue, where more detailed information can be found about each item mentioned in this guide. Each question, or group of related questions, is followed by a list of sources where answers might be had. This guide is meant to be complemented by three timelines, also to be found on the CRC’s webpage: one timeline is of key events in the library’s early history, one for the library’s early catalogues, and one for other types of library records, such as accession books and student registers.

The library’s collection is known for many unique items and the history of some of these can be traced far back, as some of them are listed in 17^th and 18^th centuries press catalogues. The development of cataloguing in the library can be studied in detail, as we hold catalogues from the early decades of the library’s existence to the later series of type-written Guard books (which have now been digitised), the forerunner of the online catalogue, launched in 1985. The history of the university can also be shed light onto when we look at student registers, account books and borrowing registers. We also get a sense of the evolution of the institution’s teaching by looking at the books that were being purchased and at what times.

The main outcome of the Early Library Records Project has been to open up a series of records for research. Indeed, with the help of this guide, the online catalogue and CRC staff, it is hoped that researchers and members of the public will be able to navigate more easily the wealth of early library records. The project has also cleared some mist as to the nature of some specific items. For example, it has been discovered that item LIB/1/Da.1.1, an author catalogue, does not date back to 1636 as was thought but is more likely to have been started in the 1670s.

Note

Although this guide has been compiled with clarity and accuracy of information as main intentions, since we are here dealing with early records there still remains a certain amount of uncertainty, especially as regards the dating of each item mentioned in this guide. Nonetheless, it is hoped that this guide will facilitate research and be a useful tool for anyone interested in the library’s history. Further possible routes of enquiry, directly or indirectly linked to the library’s early records, are also suggested later on in this guide.

As far as has been possible, the main language used in each item has been given (in the descriptive section). However, the language given is often more of an indication rather than a fixed piece of information. For example, some records might be described as mostly in Latin, although they list English language books, because the titles and authors’ names have been Latinised. Other records are described as mostly in English, because the titles and authors’ names are all in English, although they might include one or several notes in Latin.

Later catalogues, from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, are not dealt with in this guide. However, they might serve as a first step for someone looking to find out how long a book has been in the library. Therefore, they are mentioned in several sections below and so are ways of accessing them.

The records mentioned in this guide have their references containing the old shelfmark prefix ‘Da’. Da was a press in the strong room of the Library in Old College, before it was all moved to George square in 1967.

Reference codes for Requesting Items for Consultation

The Library records form part of the Records of the Univwersity.  For the sake of brevity, short reference codes have been given.  To request items, please cite full reference codes by prefixing them with ‘EUA IN1/ADS/’.

For example, when requesting LIB/1/Da1.1, please cite EUA IN1/ADS/LIB/1/Da.1.1