Special Collections & Museums
How to search our collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives, art and musical instruments.
The Centre for Research Collections, located in the Main Library, is the main access point for the University’s cultural and heritage collections.
Centre for Research Collections
The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) is the main space for anyone using the University of Edinburgh’s historic collections.
Rare Books
Many of our Rare Books and Theses can be found on DiscoverEd, the Library's discovery platform.
Archives
Our online catalogue to archives, manuscripts and personal papers (inc. University Archives). Please note that the catalogue only lists as many of our collections as have been catalogued electronically.
Art
The Art collections online catalogue allows users to search and view images where available.
Musical Instrument Collection
The MIMEd collection has been fully catalogued and photographed.
What is online?
Not all our collections can be accessed via the online catalogues. Read further about these collections to find out more.
Manual Catalogues, Indexes and Lists
A variety of handlists and indexes are available to use in person at the CRC. Staff will be happy to assist you to navigate these.