Rare Books and Special Collections

The University of Sydney Library holds one of Australia’s largest rare books and special collections (RBSC), with over 300,000 items.

These collections are an invaluable resource for teaching and research. 

Collection highlights include:

• Medieval manuscripts and early printed books
• Rare editions from influential authors
• Science Fiction books and comics
• East Asian Collections
• Pre-2013 University of Sydney higher degree theses
• Boxed collections of archival materials

We welcome academics, students and the public to view and study our collections. 

Teach with RBSC

The Library's extensive Rare Books and Special Collections are available to support research and education, through activities including: 

• Academic-led classes
• Library-led classes / Object Based Learning (OBL)
• using digitised content

More information on teaching options

Contact us

Please email enquiries to cultural.collections@usyd.libanswers.com

Accessing RBSC

In order to request and view RBSC items, you must have a membership.

• University staff and students have automatic membership (use your existing card/UniKey)
• A free RBSC Community ID is available for the public

Find out more about viewing items from special collections

Browse the collections 

• RBSC items are searchable in the Library catalogue. Search results can be refined by selecting ‘Rare Books & Special Collections’ under the ‘Library’ category.
• Browse highlights from the collection
• Discover thousands of digitised RBSC books, manuscripts, illustrations, journals, photographs, and documents on the Library's Digital Collections

Request an item

To view a RBSC item, a request must be made via the Library website at least 2 business days in advance. 

• Log in to the Library catalogue using your UniKey or RBSC Community ID
• Search for the item you want to view
• Select ‘more options’ in the item record and ‘send request’
• You will receive an email once your request has been approved and processed

Reading Room

Requested items must be viewed in the RBSC Reading Room, located on level 1 of Fisher Library. Opening hours below.

The RBSC Reading Room is closed during public holidays and University closedown periods.