website: http://www-library.st-and.ac.uk

The University of St Andrews has been acquiring books since its foundation in the 15th century. There are 150 incunabula, 4000 16th century books and 5000 17th century ones. Between 1710 and 1837 the Library was a legal deposit library and therefore has major collections for that period. Altogether the Library holds around 1 million volumes of which around fifty percent are listed in its web-based catalogue, SAULCAT. For older material it is important to consult the library's paper catalogues on site.

Modern printed collections

Collection strengths of particular interest to researchers in North American Studies include those in the areas of history, politics, genealogy, international relations, terrorism, art history, languages and literature. There are large collections of society publications and Presidential papers. The Library has notably long runs of periodicals; some 10,000 titles are held in total, of which 4,700 are current.

Early printed material & special collections (incl. music)

There are strong collections in the fields of philosophy, religion, exploration and the slave trade. The 18th and early 19th century pamphlet collections are of particular note.

Manuscripts & archives

The major strength of the collections lies in material concerning the North-East Fife locality, but there are also important collections relating to Scottish emigration to North America, and the administration of Jamaican estates. The Archives Department has, notably, The Lady Haden-Guest Collection, a collection of papers relating to research on emigration to the colonies; correspondence from various emigrants, especially to Canada; and university archival material relating to graduates who emigrated.

Microform collections

These include substantial microform sets of newspapers and early texts, and sets of government publications and presidential papers which complement the Library's printed sets.

Official publications

The Library holds substantial printed collections of British government publications including House of Commons and House of Lords papers from 1840 onwards, Hansard from 1803, and Acts of Parliament from 1701. United States and Canadian holdings include statistical and foreign policy publications.

Maps and visual resources

The Library's map collection is especially strong in early Scottish material, but there are around 200 maps relating to North America, and some early maps of Jamaica. There is also an important collection housed in the Geography department, but not listed in the Library's catalogues. The University photographic collection of around 300,000 images is one of the most important in Scotland and houses a fine collection of very early photographs.

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