There are two sets of archives which involve the Guardian that are completely separate, with different access procedures and rules.

GNM Archives

The GNM Archive acquires and makes accessible the corporate records of the Guardian, as well as the papers of individuals and organisations that have made a significant impact on the history of the organisation, such as former employees and writers.

Information about the GNM Archives and personal collections of those associated with the paper can be found on the online catalogue.  The online archive contains descriptions of corporate records of the Guardian and Observer, details of oral history recordings, lists of photographic files available in our picture library archive, and details of personal collections of papers and photographic material of individuals associated with the papers.  Not everything held by the archive is catalogued as this is an ongoing process and the collections are growing all the time.  Also, please note that the catalogue is not designed to provide online access to digital images of documents within our collections

If you wish to make an appointment to view any material from the Guardian Archive please email archives@theguardian.com. quoting the reference number of the item(s) you are interested in consulting. The reading room in located in King’s Cross, London, and is open to researchers Mondays to Fridays, from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm.

The Guardian Archive at UML

The majority of the Guardian’s archive, dating from its foundation in 1821 up to its move to London in the 1960s, is held by The University of Manchester Library.  UML has produced a number of guides for readers using their collections to research specific subjects:

Sources for people connected with to the Guardian and Manchester Evening News (PDF).

Sources for the Boer War (PDF).

Sources for Womens Suffrage (PDF).

Guide to Foreign Correspondence (PDF).

Applications to undertake research using the Guardian archive at UML should be made to Karen Jacques, Collection and Research Support Assistant, The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester, 150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH, email karen.jacques@manchester.ac.uk

Observer:

Few documents relating to the Observer’s early years are known to have survived and the majority of those that have remain within private collections. The GNM archive holds records relating to the paper from 1907 onwards, although there are still significant gaps in the records. The archive of JL Garvin (editor of the Observer 1908-1942) is held by the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. There is now an online catalogue of the Garvin collection.