This page details the main online catalogues to the collections and outlines some of the other catalogues and search aids. Further information can also be found in M.A.E. Nickson, The British Library: Guide to the catalogues and indexes of the Department of Manuscripts, 3rd rev. ed. (London, 1998).
A copy is kept in the Manuscripts Reading Room. It can also be purchased from the British Library Shop.
Manuscripts Online Catalogue
The Manuscripts Online Catalogue is based on the traditional cataloguing of the Department of Manuscripts and aims to cover all accessions from 1753 to date.
- The British Library's catalogues of manuscripts are traditionally constructed in two parts, descriptions and indexes. The Online Catalogue allows searching of both elements:
- Each numbered volume or entity has a narrative description recording such information as content, date, language, bibliography, provenance and physical details.
- Indexes provide access based on personal and place names, with some corporate names and subject terms. An entry may refer to a multi-volume collection, a volume or group of volumes, a span of leaves or one side of a single leaf. Indexes are compiled from the manuscripts, not from the descriptions, and will often contain additional information.
- Much of the Online Catalogue is derived from digital scans of printed catalogues. Some indexes and descriptions have so far proved resistant to such techniques and have not yet been converted. These include the following:
- Burney manuscripts descriptions.
- Harley manuscripts descriptions & indexes.
- 1783-1835 accessions index.
- King's manuscripts index.
- Lansdowne manuscripts index.
- Royal manuscripts index.
- Index Locorum of Charters and Rolls.
- Other non-published handlists and card indexes available only in the Manuscripts Reading Room.
For further information, consult the Manuscripts Online Catalogue itself.
Please note that the Manuscripts Online Catalogue does not offer British Library Readers a remote ordering facility.
Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
The pilot Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts allows in-depth exploration of the British Library's unrivalled collection of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. You can view detailed descriptions with images and also take tours of the Library's illuminated manuscript holdings.
Catalogue of Wolley Charters
The Catalogue of Wolley Charters is a searchable calendar of all 1039 charters bequeathed by Adam Wolley in 1828. They range in date from the 13th to the 18th century and are mostly concerned with land transfers, although there are some wills, marriage settlements and miscellaneous items.
Other catalogues
Published catalogues exist for a large proportion of the named Manuscript Collections - they usually include both descriptions of and indexes to the manuscripts in particular collections. In addition, many of these separate indexes have been brought together in an amalgamated index known as the Index of Manuscripts, 10 vols. (Cambridge, 1984-1986).
An unpublished subject index and a 19th-century 'Class Catalogue' provide further means of accessing the collections in the Manuscripts Reading Room. There is also a wealth of published material available, providing summaries, descriptions and indexes to manuscripts arranged chronologically, by language, or by subject matter. Many of these books are available on the open access shelves of the Manuscripts Reading Room, where assistance can also be sought from the Enquiry Team, the Superintendent or the Curatorial Advisor.
Finally, many collections, including some recent acquisitions, can also be located online through the National Register of Archives.
