LibGuides: Special Collections: Disability History Resources: Searching the catalogues

Research requires an awareness of the history of disability and how attitudes and terminology have changed over time.

Try to find out:

the type of disability and how it was referred to in the past
the dates and places associated with your research
how and why the state was involved

Certain disabilities, such as those caused by inadequate medical treatment, are uncommon in Britain today but affected large numbers of people in the past.

Be aware that many terms used in historical records are now considered offensive.

(Source: The National Archives, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/disability-history/)

Searching for archives:

Archive materials can be found by searching the University of Exeter Special Collections archives catalogue

Narrow down your search by going into advanced search
Enter a keyword, name or title
If you already know an item’s reference number you can search by this
Optionally refine the results by date

Searching for books:

Rare books can be found by searching the University of Exeter Library catalogue

Enter a keyword, title or author in the search bar
To restrict the results to a specific time period, enter a date range under *Refine your results* and *Creation Date*
To restrict the results to results to Special Collections materials, select *Special Collections, Old Library* under *Location*

Further guidance on using the archives and library catalogues can be found on the Searching our Catalogues LibGuide