Undergraduates
Much of the material in the Conservative Party Archive is available on microform (see Catalogues, below for more detail). Where this is the case, undergraduates are requested to use this rather than the originals.
Please note that to consult the Conservative Party Archive you will first need to become a Reader of the Bodleian Libraries. Manuscript access is not accorded automatically to undergraduate students so it is essential that you follow the advice given in Applying for Access, below.
Catalogues
For a summary of the material available on microform, please consult the catalogue.
There is also a more extensive guide to the microform collections, published by the Gale Group. The guide contains some very useful introductory sections which can be used for background information and to help identify relevant material.
If you need any further help identifying material relevant to your research, please contact the Conservative Party Archivist at modern.papers@bodley.ox.ac.uk.
Applying for Access
In order to gain access to the microform collections, you must first ask your supervisor to send a letter of
recommendation to the Conservative Party Archivist, detailing the relevance of the Conservative Party Archive
to your research. The letter can either be sent by email to
modern.papers@bodley.ox.ac.uk
or by post to:
Conservative Party Archive, Bodleian Library, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BG.
If you are an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, your supervisor may use the recommendation form
which can be downloaded here; you can bring with this with you on your first visit to the Special Collections Reading Room.
Once the Archivist has seen your letter of recommendation, you can reserve a place in the Special Collections Reading Room to consult the material. The catalogue to the microform material specifies whether each section is on microfiche or microfilm, so please be sure to reserve the relevant reader.
Undergraduates from Universities outside Oxford
If you are an undergraduate from a University other than the University of Oxford, please note that undergraduates are normally admitted to the Bodleian Library during Oxford University vacations only. Please consult the term dates. Information on the Library's admission procedure and a copy of the application form are available at Application to Read.