A number of special collections of books, such as the Allan Milne Collection, are held in Stores in the Singleton Park Library. These are mostly bequests or donations. Much of the material is not borrowable, and some may only be consulted under special conditions. Most items may be found in the iFind catalogue. Please ask at the Information Desk for details of access to this special collection material. You can find out more on our Rare Books and Special Collections web page.
Our Archive and Research Collections web page gives links to information about the historical research collections we hold. These collections are housed in the Richard Burton Archives, South Wales Miners’ Library and in our Rare Books which are kept in the Document Supply office.
The collections held at the South Wales Miners' Library (located at Hendrefoelan Student Village) explore the political, social and cultural aspects of industrial South Wales. The South Wales Coalfield Collection (SWCC) is the largest research collection, but the library holds numerous smaller collections donated by academics, politicians, institutions and workers. These provide valuable resources for research across numerous disciplines, including Industrial History, English Literature, Politics, Astronomy and Philosophy. Check out the DACE's Research Collections page for further information.
The Allan Milne Collection, of over 2,500 books on the American Civil War, is located in a store on Level 2 West of the Singleton Park Library. It includes many primary source materials, such as diaries, autobiographies and soldiers' letters. It is one of the largest collections of materials relating to the Civil War in the United Kingdom and is of great value to many researchers and students.
You can either search on iFind for specific items in the Milne Collection and ask at the Information Desk to view them or you can generally browse the collection if a member of the Arts and Humanities Library Team accompanies you.
To view the collection, contact us for an appointment at:
If you are a dissertation student or researcher, you may be able to have your card activated to access the collection (email us to ask about this).