Why can’t I see images of the items in all the catalogue entries?

Our catalogue only contains descriptions of the records, not images or transcriptions of the records themselves. However, there is an on-going project to digitise the collection and in the future we hope to add links to images of some of our most important documents. In our Image Gallery you can see images of some of the items in our collection.

Why can’t I find what I’m looking for?

The search function will only find the exact words used in the catalogue, so if you haven’t found what you wanted it’s a good idea to try several related terms.

So, if you are searching for material relating to Roald Dahl’s time at school, you could try searching for ‘St. Peter’s ’, ‘Weston-super-Mare’ or ‘Repton’, as well as just the term ‘school’.

The search function will also return the broadest range of entries for a particular word, so sometimes using a more specific term will return more relevant results.

For example, the word “champion” will return results for both Danny, the Champion of the World (1975) and The Champion of the World (1959).

See the ‘How do I search the Database’ for more details on search terms.

How do I get access to the documents listed in the catalogue?

Most of the items found in the catalogue can be viewed at our archive reading room at the Museum. We are open to bona fide researchers by appointment only. Please click here to make an enquiry and discuss your area of interest.