Library & Archive

The Library has always played a central role in the life of the College. It remains a key part of the student experience and, together with our Archive and Special Collections, a rich resource for all members of the College.

A view of the Tate Library from the gallery

The Library and Archives have always been at the heart of the life of the College, travelling with the staff and students as they moved between cities in their early years.  As some of the older dissenting academies closed - such as Warrington and Exeter - their libraries were absorbed into the Manchester College collections. Consequently, our library and archive collections are a key resource for the study of Nonconformity and Dissenting history, with our collections especially significant in the area of Unitarianism.  And the Tate Library, built when the College moved to Oxford as the Library's reading room, is now one of Harris Manchester's most distinctive and recognisable spaces, playing a central role in our students' experience of the College.

Explore the Library and Archive

Using the Library

Information for students and contact details for visitors 

Photograph of a pile of bills relating to food from the 1960s

Our Archive

Explore our Archive and find details on how to access items

special collections photo

Special collections

Learn about our other collections, including the Carpenter Library

Latest from the Library blog

A photograph of a set of journals bearing the name Folklore dating from 1910s

Professor J. E. Carpenter and his Library

An image of an early printed title page 1645

Historical Tracts and the story of Christmas

Photograph of a pile of bills relating to food from the 1960s

1921 Census reveals unseen Manchester College family

A detail of a black and white photograph showing students posing for a College group picture.  A female figure is standing next to a man with a long white beard.

Women who made (Harris) Manchester College