Heritage Collections

The Heritage Collections are held and accessed across a number of sites. The central hub is the Centre for Research Collections on the 6th floor of the Main University Library, where you will find the Reading Room and our teaching spaces.

An image of the Centre for Research Collections Helpdesk, with the reading room behind it

The majority of our collections are unique and irreplaceable and require a specialist environment for their care. To preserve them, we look after them in secure stores and they are retrieved by staff for you to look at in our purpose-built Reading Room. If you wish to consult an item from the collections in-person, please get in touch in advance to make an appointment, either in-person, via telephone, or by emailing Heritage Collections 

Contact Heritage Collections

All appointments must be made at least a week in advance of your visit.

Contact details

Address

6th Floor
Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9LJ

Opening hours 

DayOpening hours
MondayClosed (Virtual Reading room only)
Tuesday10am to 6:30pm
Wednesday10am to 6:30pm
Thursday10am to 4pm
Friday10am - 4pm
Saturday and SundayClosed

The Center for Research Collections (CRC) is located on the 6th floor of the Main Library. You are welcome to visit during our opening hours to make an inquiry, but please note that all research visits require an appointment with at least one week’s notice. 

Making an appointment to Visiting the CRC in Person

If you do not have a University of Edinburgh student or library card, please report to facilities staff at the Main Library entrance. For comprehensive information about the Main Library and its facilities, please visit the Main Library location website

Main Library 


Heritage Collections at the University of Edinburgh are open to all and we want everyone who visits our spaces to feel comfortable and welcome. We have created AccessAble Guides, Sensory Maps, and Visual Guides to help you familiarise yourself with our sites before and during your visit.

You can find links to the accessibility information for the CRC here:


Wifi

There is free Wi-Fi at all of our sites. Visitors with a University of Edinburgh login can use Eduroam [https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/computing/desktop-personal/wifi-networking/configure-device]. External visitors can sign-in via VisitEd [https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/computing/desktop-personal/wifi-networking/visit-ed].

Toilets

There are male, female, and accessible toilets at all of our sites.

Lockers

You cannot take bags into our Reading Rooms. Free lockers are available to use during your appointment.


Library Regulations

All users of the University Library must observe these Library Regulations and observe special regulations relating to any Library premises which they may use.

Library regulations 

Reading Room Etiquette 

We have some regulations in our Reading Rooms, to ensure that our collections are kept safe and secure. The following are allowed in our Reading Rooms: 

  • pencils
  • notebooks
  • reference books
  • laptop/tablet/camera/phone

The following are not allowed in our Reading Rooms: 

  • pens
  • food/drink
  • bags/coats/umbrellas
  • scissors/knives
  • correction fluid/post-it-notes/Sellotape
  • lighters/matches

Appointment Regulations & Registration


Related links

BSL

British Sign Language users can make contact by using the free service:

ContactSCOTLAND-BSL 

 

Videos about our collections and services in BSL 

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