Palace Green Library

Durham University Library
Palace Green
Durham
Durham
DH1 3RN
England

Website

E-mail

pg.library@durham.ac.uk

Telephone

0191 334 2932

Fax

0191 334 2942

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

Image of the entrance to Palace Green Library, with Durham Cathedral in the background

Founded in 1833 and occupying listed buildings within the Durham World Heritage site, the Palace Green Library of Durham University houses archives, early printed books and other special collections. A new exhibition gallery in the Wolfson Hall opened in 2011, and regularly exhibits treasures from all of the university's heritage collections. There are:

Over 70,000 books printed before 1850 including 300 incunables; over 100 Medieval manuscripts; 3,400 metres of archives and artefacts; over 30,000 maps and prints and 100,000 photographs.

We are open to anyone needing to consult our collections. New users will be required to fill out a short registration form.

Two of the University Library's special collections, the Bishop Cosin's Library and the Sudan Archive, were awarded Designated Collection of national importance status in 2005 in the first round of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council Designation Scheme.

Venue Type:

Library, Archive, Gallery, Heritage site, Museum

Opening hours

Library Term time
Mon 9.00-18.00
Tues 9.00-18.00
Weds 9.00-18.00
Thurs 9.00-18.00
Fri 9.00-18.00
Sat CLOSED
Sun CLOSED
Bank Holidays: please check library website

Library Vacation time
Mon 9.00-17.00
Tues 9.00-17.00
Wed 9.00-17.00
Thurs 9.00-17.00
Fri 9.00-17.00
Sat CLOSED
Sun CLOSED
Bank Holidays: please check library website

Gallery (Term and Vacation)
Mon CLOSED
Tues 10.00-16.45
Wed 10.00-16.45
Thurs 10.00-16.45
Fri 10.00-16.45
Sat 12.00-16.45
Sun 12.00-16.45
Bank Holidays 12.00-16.45

Admission charges

£3.00 Adults
£2.00 Concessions
£2.00 Children
Children aged five and under- Free
£8.00 Family Ticket
Due to disruption caused by building works, admission charges will be halved until January 2012.

General services and facilities

Brochure or leaflet available with directions to museum
Guided tours
Pre-booking service for groups

Children and families

Events and resources for children and families

Disability access

Induction loops in exhibition spaces
Touch exhibits
Wheelchair access to all public areas

Schools services and facilities

Direct teaching services for schools
Member of staff available with responsibility for education
Primary school education service available
Printed/audio-visual information available for schools
Secondary school education service available
Education facilities available

Research and adult learning

Academic publications and resources available
Adult lectures and courses held
Teaching/resources available for HE/FE students
Library
Library with public access
Research facilities for academics
Study facilities

Durham University Library
Palace Green
Durham
Durham
DH1 3RN
England

Website

Durham University Library website

www.dur.ac.uk/library/

Special Collections

www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/

Archives and Special Collections Opening Hours

www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/opening/asc/

Exhibitions Gallery

http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/exhibitions/

E-mail

pg.library@durham.ac.uk

Telephone

0191 334 2932

Fax

0191 334 2942

The Bishop Cosin's Library and the Sudan Archive are Designated Collections of oustanding national and international importance.

The Bishop Cosin’s Library is still housed in its original building and, as an integral element of the World Heritage Site, has significance for the history of libraries and for ecclesiastical history both locally and nationally.

The Sudan Archive is indispensable to the study of the Sudan in the period of British administration. It is significant to British national life through its illustration of the impact of the colonial power on the country at many levels of administration.

The Special Collections at Palace Green Library also hold many other important national and regional collections, including:

Durham Diocesian Records
Durham Cathedral Muniments
Local Records, Maps, Plans and Photographs
Manorial Records
Earl Grey Family Papers
Antiquarian Papers
Literary Papers
Durham University Records

Collection details

World Cultures, Social History, Religion, Literature, Archives

Key artists and exhibits

Designated Collection
Sudan
Cosin
County Durham
Bishop
Cathedral
Dean and Chapter
Earl Grey
University
Archives
Books
Manuscript
Printed

Collections services

General guide to collections available
Object identification and/or written enquiry service
Public access available to collections information
Specialist publications on collections available

Durham University Library
Palace Green
Durham
Durham
DH1 3RN
England

Website

Durham University Library website

www.dur.ac.uk/library/

Special Collections

www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/

Archives and Special Collections Opening Hours

www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/opening/asc/

Exhibitions Gallery

http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/exhibitions/

E-mail

pg.library@durham.ac.uk

Telephone

0191 334 2932

Fax

0191 334 2942

Exhibition details are listed below, you may need to scroll down to see them all.

"Outrageously Modern! Avant-garde magazines that shocked Britain 1884 - 1922

4 February — 20 May 2012 *on now

Enter the world of late nineteenth-century publishing and explore a range of ground-breaking and notorious literary and art magazines from the collections of Palace Green Library.

Sitting within the Treasures of Durham University exhibition, Outrageously Modern! will take you on a visual tour of magazine culture from Charles Dickens to Oscar Wilde and into the early twentieth century with a blast of creative daring!

Suitable for

Any age

Where

Wolfson Gallery, Palace Green Library, Durham

Admission

£3 Adults, £2 children and concessions.

Durham University Library
Palace Green
Durham
Durham
DH1 3RN
England

Website

Durham University Library website

www.dur.ac.uk/library/

Special Collections

www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/

Archives and Special Collections Opening Hours

www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/opening/asc/

Exhibitions Gallery

http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/exhibitions/

E-mail

pg.library@durham.ac.uk

Telephone

0191 334 2932

Fax

0191 334 2942

Resources listed here may include websites, bookable tours and workshops, books, loan boxes and more. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all.

Digital and online resources

Family Records Guide

http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk

This site contains links to our resources, guides and projects that are most likely to be useful for those undertaking family history and also local history research, or wanting to study individuals and families from the archives held by Durham University Library.

Publisher

Durham University Library Special Collections

North East Inheritance

http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei

The North East Inheritance project is creating of an online digital image catalogue of over 150,000 wills and related archives from across County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. These will provide an invaluable insight into north-eastern people and communities, their family relationships, trades and lifestyles. The wills date from the 16th Century to the mid-19th Century and many are accompanied by inventories of the goods belonging to the deceased, bonds, accounts, and a variety of associated documents.

Publisher

Durham University Library Special Collections

Remembering Slavery

http://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/indexpages/citizenship.html

A collection of online resources which use printed and manuscript material to look at the history of the transatlantic slave trade. Included are a series of e-learning resources which are ready for use in the classroom; an online exhibition focusing on various aspects of the slave trade; and a number of resources designed for use on interactive whiteboards.

Creator

Durham University Museums and Special Collecions

Publisher

Durham University Library

Victorian Durham

http://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/victoriandurham/default.html

An online resource looking at aspects of Victorian life with particular reference to Durham. It is accompanied by a specially designed walking trail for schools which takes pupils on a tour around the World Heritage Site on a quest for clues about the city's Victorian past.

Creator

Durham University Museums and Special Collections in collaboration with students on the MA Museum and Artefact Studies course

Publisher

Durham University Library

Face to face resources

Remembering Slavery

http://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/indexpages/citizenship.html

A schools workshop that challenges students to think about the transatlantic slave trade and the impact that it has had. The session is based on printed, manuscript and pictoral sources from our collections but also makes use of our slavery-related handling collection and life-sized print of the slave ship Brookes. The session can take place at our Library or in school and can be adapted to suit any Key Stage.