Special Collections - archives and rare books: About Special Collections

Our Mission

To celebrate the past, present and future of De Montfort University through the preservation, promotion and display of archives and artefacts which reveal the on-going story of the institution, inspiring student achievement through engagement with heritage.

DMU Special Collections sits within the Directorate of Library and Learning Services and shares their overall mission and vision, as well as aspiring to contribute to the Strategic Framework set out by the University.

Our Vision

Our vision is to enhance teaching, learning and research activities at De Montfort University and beyond through the provision of specialist resources and to facilitate cross-departmental collaborations inspired by heritage. We aim to engage, motivate and promote learning to all and to play an active role in the life of the students, staff and the community. Special Collections will celebrate, reflect and capture the vibrancy, creativity, culture and diversity of the university as well as its excellence in research and learning.

Our Aspirations

• To develop archival holdings which reflect the achievements of DMU over its history and to collect the contemporary records which will become the archives of tomorrow
• To enhance teaching, learning and research by provision of subject-specific archives and book collections that reflect major teaching strengths of the University
• To collaborate with academics to provide an exciting programme of student engagement with the archive and rare book collections and to offer students the opportunity for personal enhancement through placements in the archive
• To use appropriate technologies to catalogue the collections and promote them across the global research community

Our Values

Our values are at the core of all our work and help us to deliver our mission.

Accessibility: to promote and maintain access to all archives and rare books for all interested parties

Preservation: to ensure that all materials cared for within Special Collections are handled, displayed and stored according to best practice guidelines, to ensure their long term preservation as evidence of the activities of the University for future generations

Engagement: to promote the collections across the University and the wider community, working in partnership with the DMU Heritage Centre to create a vibrant heritage hub and supporting the aspiration of students by opening them up to the possibilities of using heritage in their work

Innovation: to encourage innovation in our approach, using new techniques, technologies and ideas to enhance our work and continually improve the interpretation and preservation of our collections

Collaboration: to work with a range of partners both within the University and across the community, encouraging mutually beneficial dialogues and exciting possibilities to enhance learning, celebrate achievement and create networks

Our Policies

The Special Collections Team has developed a set of policies to assist us in achieving our mission. These were published in 2016 and were due to be reviewed in 2018. Review activity is now planned for 2019.

Collections Management refers to a set of activities that involve the care and development of the collections, including organising access to them. Policies exist as follows:

Collections Development

• Collections Acquisitions Policy

• Appraisal and Deaccessions Policy

Collections Information

• Cataloguing Policy

Collections Care

• Collections Care Policy

Collections Access

• Collections Access Policy

We also have a policy for the management of materials in our rare books collection, and a policy for the management of our volunteering programme.