Guardbook Catalogue, late 1950s-1985

The Guardbook was the University Library's last catalogue on paper, before computerisation. It was closed to new additions and amendments in 1985, and the electronic catalogue now replaces it for all General Collections material. It remains a useful source of information for Rare Books, as retrospective conversion of the Guardbook's contents was not completed for the older collections. Please bear in mind that many shelf locations have been changed since 1985, so this catalogue should always be used in conjunction with the current electronic catalogue.

The Guardbook is a valuable historical document, showing the state of the library collection at a single point in history, and is of value for research into the history of the collections. The original was typed onto loose sheets, punched with four holes, and held in binders of a proprietary design. The entries were arranged in a single sequence using only the left-hand page of each opening. Additions were made to it by removing the sheets from the binder and typing new entries in the appropriate place. If there was no space on the page, additions were made on a narrower sheet, bound to face it. Eventually, the whole sheet would be re-typed.