Over 40,000 catalogued physical items

Built in 1928 with a bequest from auxiliary bishop of Birmingham, Bishop Michael Glancey (1854-1925), the purpose of this library is to support the intellectual formation of our seminarians and candidates for the Permanent Diaconate.

Along with the library stacks and the Spiritual Reading Library, we offer access to over 40,000 catalogued physical items, as well as online access to a range of academic journals and eBooks.

Visitors may use the library for reference purposes, but loan of library materials is not possible. Requests by external users should be directed in advance to the librarian. The catalogue may be searched via the college website from any computer.

Open for research

Whilst this library primarily exists to support the intellectual formation of seminarians and diaconate students, it is also open to researchers and visitors.

We would also like it to be more widely known as a resource for the priestly community, so if you are a priest, especially a former student of Oscott, please know that this library still exists to support your ongoing formation and ministry.

If you are an academic researcher, what you are looking for would likely be in our Library Special Collection, which is available by appointment only.

The Library Special Collection

Library catalogue

You can access the catalogue of this library through our online portal.

The catalogue contains many different mediums, from journals and books to VCRs and CDs. The catalogue largely covers the Church, general history, theology and philosophy.

Our online catalogue

Get in touch

Our librarian is available during term time every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Call 0121 321 5100Email paul.meller@oscott.org

The Library Special Collection

Our rare books collection, The Library Special Collection, contains some 12,000 early printed books and pamphlets. It is available for scholarly use by academic researchers.

Explore this library

Museum

Established in 1839 by renowned, Gothic-revivalist architect Augustus Welby Pugin, our museum collection tells the story of the college and the Victorian Catholic revival.

What’s in the museum