The University of Manchester Library

Happy Pride Month from The University of Manchester Library! 🌈

Pride month takes place 1 June – 30 June 2026, to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of June 1969. This year the focus is on inclusivity and intersectional equality.

Why not explore our LGBTQ+ Special Collections, with archives, images and printed books from the 1700s to modern day, including letters between the Ladies of Llangollen, the Homophile Society papers (now Gay Soc), and the papers of LGBTQ+ equality campaigner A.E. (Tony) Dyson.

As exams begin, the Library is here to support you every step of the way! You can:

**Access workshops and online guides including our Library support for assessment guide for support throughout the period
**Speak to Library and student team staff via our roving service throughout Main Library and the AGLC
**Get wellbeing support by accessing helpful resources and workshops via the Mental Health Support Team
**Get advice from Library staff and student team members at our regular drop-in sessions
**Attend our Show up and Study, Calm your brain and have a croissant and our Relax and recharge sessions throughout the exam period, facilitated by the Library. Listen out for announcements for extra support during this time.

Do you have old or unwanted textbooks you no longer use? 📚

You can donate them at Main Library so that we can make them available for other students through our Textbook Rescue programme! 🙌

Just ask at the Main Library desk 😄

The Library is excited to announce its continued subscription to the CNKI E-Books service, offering full-text access and the option to download entire books.

One of only two UK libraries with full access to all 10 China Academic Journals collections, you can access over 9,300 high-quality CNKI E-Books from China’s leading scholars, spanning Art, Literature, History, Geography, and Philosophy, fully downloadable for research, study, and teaching.

✨ Catch The Sky at Night on BBC iPlayer!
The latest episode, Jodrell Bank: Tuning into the Universe, is now available and keep your eyes peeled… you’ll spot The University of Manchester Main Library on screen! It was a great opportunity to showcase our special collections relating to Jodrell Bank and GCHQ with Professor Danielle Geroge and Chris Lintott. Watch the show, and also explore our History of Science and Technology collections: https://ow.ly/WVIm50YY5XI

Mental Health Awareness Week takes place 11 – 17 May 2026, and this year’s theme is Action. Change cannot happen without action, and this starts with all of us. 🙏🗣️

• The Library helps support your mental health with our Counselling and Mental Health curated list on Libby – where you can tag books to request them. Search our collections today and let us know if there are any books that you would recommend.

• The University of Manchester Wellbeing Collection at the Library highlights helpful books in our vast collections, available on Reading Lists Online.

• The Library provides Exam and Assessment Support throughout semesters one and two. Look out for announcements of our events.

• My Learning Essentials runs workshops in-person or online throughout semester. Book your place on one of our Mental Health Support Team Workshops.

We’re excited to announce a new international exhibition opening next month showcasing the archive of Joy Division frontman and songwriter Ian Curtis. Hosted by Voltz Clarke Gallery in New York, Ian Curtis: Insight will present materials from the personal archive of Ian Curtis including handwritten lyrics, notebooks, fan letters and ephemera.

Opening 25 June 2026 in New York, Ian Curtis: Insight will be the first time that these materials have been displayed in the United States. Ian Curtis’ personal archive will be further supported by connected materials from across the British Pop Archive, including the archives of Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Kevin Cummins.

The exhibition situates Ian Curtis not only as a musical icon, but as a writer and observer whose words both captured a particular time and place, while speaking to universal themes. It offers audiences an unprecedented encounter with the human story behind the music.

https://ow.ly/pFlE50YVF2b

May is Local and Community History Month!

If you're interested in the history of Manchester and surrounding areas, why not investigate our Local History and Genealogy Collections, available on request at The John Rylands Library? It includes manuscript, map and visual collections.

Our local studies global majority heritage material, held at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE (Race Archives and Community Engagement) Centre, documents the history of global majority, migrant and refugee communities in North-West England. This active and collaborative collection also includes oral histories. They can be accessed at the Archives+ Searchroom at Manchester Central Library.

What will you discover?

Today is the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s Baptism (1564) and death (1616). Over the course of his lifetime Shakespeare wrote 39 plays and 154 sonnets that are still known, enjoyed and taught today.

Did you know that while holds all four folios (collections) of Shakespeare’s works, the University’s First Folio was famously stolen in 1972?

Don’t worry though, our Shakespeare collection holds 1,400 items, including four Folios, and they can be requested to view via appointment in our Reading Room or viewed online.

If the play’s your thing, The University of Manchester Library subscription to Drama Online means you can watch productions of Shakespeare from the the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre and the Royal Exchange for free, anytime!