Nau mai, tauti mai. Special Collections at University of Otago Library preserves and provides access to special, rare and unique books and manuscripts.
We do this to support learning, teaching and research within the University, throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, and internationally. Access is available on-site in our reading room and from a distance.
You can find us on the first floor of the Central Library on the University's Ōtepoti Dunedin campus, at the Museum Reserve end of the building. Our space includes the de Beer Gallery, a research room, and secure storage for books of all shapes and sizes – from early and rare examples of European printed books and 'serious' literature to 'pulp' fiction crime stories.
Special Collections also holds several named collections, illustrated manuscripts, periodicals, pamphlets and ephemera. The curators also manage the Ōtākou Press Studio and hold its archives.
Current exhibition in the de Beer Gallery
SetTXTS: the not-so-secret reading habits of Uni students
8 May–28 August 2026
For previous generations, it was unavoidable – you needed to read books to get a degree. Set TXTS begins here and explores the not-so-secret reading habits of Uni students, past and present. You could think of the exhibition as a bookshelf full of textbooks that have been ‘foisted’ onto Otago undergrads since 1869. But it doesn’t stop at official reading lists printed in the annual Uni calendar; this bookshelf also holds alternative publications produced by students that were guidebooks to life beyond lecture theatres, labs and libraries.
And after exploring these texts and the exhibition’s perspective on required reading, we hope that visitors leave wondering whether an 1841 definition of a ‘true’ Uni as ‘a collection of books’ is meaningful in 2026.
Nau mai, haere mai. All welcome.
Find out more about Special Collections exhibitions
Ōtākou Press Studio | Te Taupuni Mahi Tā o Ōtākou
Ōtākou Press Studio ( ŌPS ), located at the Museum Reserve end of the Central Library's first floor (1W2), is a creative space for researching and experimenting with print technologies, and is home to five letterpresses, an etching press, together with metal and wooden type, printing ink, and printing accessories.
ŌPS was first established in the 1960s by academic Keith Maslen and librarian David Esplin as The Bibliography Room. It is an experimental Humanities laboratory to research and understand European print technologies of the past 500 years. The studio has occupied three different spaces across the University campus since it opened, and its vintage presses have supported hands-on Humanities learning and teaching over the past six decades.
From 2003 to 2019, the studio hosted the world-leading Printer in Residence ( PiR ) programme established by former Special Collections Librarian Dr Donald Kerr. Watch out for updates about a renewed PiR programme for 2026.
Contact us to join the ŌPS mailing list and keep updated about upcoming print events and workshops.
Using Special Collections
We are a permanent research collection providing access for current researchers and holding collections in trust for future generations. To protect and preserve our books and manuscripts, we put some restrictions on how you can use them.
For research
Collection items are for reference onsite only and cannot be taken away from the Library. They are held in a secure collection store, and you cannot browse the shelves yourself. You can search and request items from the collections via the Library Search Ketu catalogue, and Special Collections staff can help you to locate specific items for your research. Staff will retrieve the items you request and bring them to you to look at in our research room.
If you are unable to visit us in person, we offer a distance consultation and research service.
For learning and teaching
Special Collections hosts hands-on classes and learning sessions for students and academic to work directly with collection items. Contact us to discuss options.
Search Special Collections with Library Search Ketu advanced search
Explore collection inventories for Special Collections manuscripts, early printed books, and more
Open hours
de Beer Gallery
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Research Room
Tuesday to Thursday, 10am to 1pm
We are open at other times by appointment.
Contact us
First floor
Te Pātaka Kura Pokapū o Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka
University of Otago Central Library
65 Albany Street
PO Box 56
Ōtepoti Dunedin 9054
Aotearoa New Zealand