Study and research

We are here to support students and researchers of all ages and in all settings.

Explore our library and archive collections

Our collections are unique. Our library collection brings together knowledge from a range of sources and perspectives: community-based publications sit alongside and counter academic works. Our Local Studies collection holds rare materials invaluable to anyone wishing to study the history of Greater Manchester's multicultural histories and communities.

Our archive collections hold the experiences of Global Majority individuals and communities from the mid-Twentieth century onwards. Many of these hold unique primary source materials that document Global Majority experiences through the eyes of the communities themselves, rather than outsider-researchers.

Take a look at our collections to see how they might support your study or research.

Use our library space

Our library space is a great space where you can access our library collection at any time Manchester Central Library is open. It's an accessible and comfortable space to study and staff are on hand to help when needed.

Our study guides

We have a very small selection of study guides, which offer contextual information and further reading. 

These guides have been produced in collaboration with researchers on emerging fields of study.

Hip Hop in the Library

Explore our bespoke Hip Hop library collection and Hip Hop education lesson plans, plus related reading for Hip Hop Studies. Designed for anyone interested in hip hop culture, recent Black history and contemporary youth culture and political trends. 

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'Honour'-based Violence and Forced Marriage Study Guide

This study guide introduces 'honour'-based violence and forced marriage as emerging fields of both academic and practice-based research. It introduces key terms and concepts, provides an overview of existing policy, practice and impotant case studies, and brings together a wide variety of research and study resources.

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We want to expand this list. Creating a study guide, in partnership with us, is a great way that you can share your specialist knowledge and / or extend the impact and legacy of your dissertation or research. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this.

If you have a research idea and would like to see how our collections might support this, please explore our collections here . If you'd like to discuss any aspect of our collections please contact us.

Where we have capacity, we may be able to support funding applications and be named partners. We are developing a list of research priorities that will also inform this.

We welcome approaches about depositing research outputs in our collections. This again depends on our capacity and a general fit with our collections. Please contact us at an early stage in your research development to discuss this further.