Have you ever wondered what collections are held by the University, what they are used for and how you can see them?

The University of Exeter's collections provide a resource for research and teaching. Many items can also be accessed by the public. In this article we focus on four collections; Special Collections, The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, the Fine Art Collection and the Camborne School of Mines Mineral Collection.

Disover more about each collection, their highlights, and how you can access them.

Special Collections

Special Collections consists of a collection of archives, manuscripts, documents and books which are of a specialist, rare or unique nature. They are stored and handled with care and are usually accessed under supervision of trained Special Collections staff.

Part of the Library service, The University of Exeter’s Special Collections are housed in the Old Library on the Streatham Campus, and at the Penryn Campus the Archives and Special Collections service, housed in the Exchange Building, cares for and provides access to a range of collections for both the University of Exeter and Falmouth University.

The materials from both these collections are used for undergraduate study, workshops, seminars, student dissertations postgraduate and other individual research, and exhibitions.

Collecting Policy

University of Exeter Special Collections in Exeter and the University of Exeter and Falmouth University Archive & Special Collections consider donations to their collections which fit with their collecting policies and have a national or regional importance, and are relevant to the areas of study and research being conducted in either institution. If you are thinking of donating archive material to either collection, the archivists for both will be happy to talk this through with you.

Contact

Contact University of Exeter Special Collections here
Contact the Archives & Special Collections on the Penryn Campus here

Access the catalogue

University of Exeter Special Collections and Falmouth University Archives & Special Collections share a joint archive catalogue which can be accessed here. This also lists the archive papers held by The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum. You can arrange to view items in all three collections whether you are a student or member or the public.

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, on the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus, is home to one of the largest collections of material relating to the moving image in Britain. It is both an accredited public museum and an academic research facility and holds a collection of over 85,000 items. Over 1,000 of these are on display in the museum’s Galleries and are normally available to be viewed by the public. Please check out the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum website for public opening times.

Highlights of the Collection

Highlights of the collection include lantern slides, dioramas, peep shows, stereoscopes, optical illusions, historic cinema magazines and books, film posters and programmes as well as many examples of toys and games relating to films.

Fine Art Collection

The University of Exeter’s fine art collection comprises over 2000 artworks, including paintings, prints and sculptures which have been commissioned, purchased and gifted.

The works are available for research and educational study. Many are on display around the University, for the enjoyment of staff, students and visitors.

Collecting Policy

The University does not currently have an active policy for collecting fine art. However, we may accept gifts of artworks into the Fine Art Collection which are of exceptional significance to the University and its history and/or relevant to our areas of research and study. Decisions about accepting works into the Fine Art Collection also hinge on the resources and space available to maintain, display and store artworks.

The Fine Art Collection Development Policy can be seen here.

Contact

If you have any questions about the Fine Art Collection, or if you would like to make an appointment to view an particular artwork, please email Arts and Culture.

The Camborne School of Mines Museum Mineral Collection

This collection of minerals from around the world originally served an educational purpose, providing miners with examples of the materials they might encounter.

The collection was created in 1888 when Camborne School of Mines (CSM) was founded and was started by combining several existing collections which dated as far back as 1824.

The collection contains 4,200 individual specimens covering over 400 different mineral types. Only minerals were included and other geological specimens, such as fossils and rocks, were added to the CSM teaching materials.

Virtual view

Click on the image below to see a 360 degree view of the Camborne School of Mines Museum Mineral Collection.

Collecting Policy

New specimens are regularly donated to the museum and are accepted on the provision that the museum will make the most suitable use of them. Rare specimens are incorporated into the collection while other, more common, samples are added to the CSM reference and teaching collections where they are used for research and education purposes.

Contact

The first point of contact is: Calum Beeson, C.Beeson@exeter.ac.uk

Every month, Arts and Culture publish a blog focusing on a piece from the University of Exeter Collections. Keep up to date by signing up for the Arts and Culture e-newsletter.