University College London: Special Collections

About University College London: Special Collections

University College London’s (UCL) Special Collections contains UCL’s collection of historical, academic and culturally significant works.  It is one of the foremost university collections of manuscripts, archives and rare books in the UK.

The New Curators Project is run by UCL Special Collections and Newham Heritage Month each year. It offers a group of local 18-24 year olds the chance to learn about the cultural heritage sector and to gain relevant skills and experience for employment in the field.

The outreach team at UCL Special Collections is passionate about sharing the extraordinary treasures of the  collections and keen to collaborate with local communities. They run an education programme that is free for schools and community groups in Newham, the other neighbouring boroughs of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest – and Camden. If you are a school or local group wishing to explore a topic through rare books, archives and manuscripts, UCL Special Collections may be able to offer support and free activities to enrich your project.

UCL opened a new East campus at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in September 2022

UCL East is a founding partner of East Bank, the new cultural and educational district on the Olympic Park. They will be joined by world-renowned institutions such as the V&A, Sadler’s Wells, the BBC and UAL’s London College of Fashion – with ambitions for unparalleled transdisciplinary partnerships, to become more than the sum of their parts.