Collections

The Library includes items relating to mining of all types, plus related industries such as geology, metallurgy and railway engineering, It includes many early scientific and technical reports relating to the development of the coal industry and associated mechanical engineering, especially early work on safety in mines.

We hold over 35,000 volumes dating from 1556 through to the present day, over 600 different periodicals from around the world and over 15,000 pamphlets, technical reports and off-prints. We also have a map collection focused on the Great Northern Coalfield and orefield. This includes maps from the Ordnance Survey, Geological Survey and underground mine plans. There is a large archive collection with manuscript notebooks from the early viewers. In addition, we hold a photographic collection and even some objects and artworks.