Lessons in making the unique ubiquitous: diversifying the role of the special collections and archives department to enhance teaching and learning at the University of Limerick

The Special Collections and Archives Department (SpecColl) was established in the Glucksman Library at the University of Limerick (UL) in 1998. It is passionate about embedding its broad range of holdings in the university curriculum. Over the past twenty years, SpecColl has implemented an educational programme, building a network of longstanding academic contacts within the university, offering research assistance, and delivering a series of workshops catered to a variety of different student types across a broad range of disciplines. This article explores the growing educational focus of SpecColl in recent years, both in response to, and in anticipation of, the needs of faculty and students. The main body examines how SpecColl has developed its educational outreach initiatives to enhance teaching and learning at UL in line with key findings from its user statistics and student feedback. It explores the challenges faced by a specialized department in striving towards ubiquity on campus, and shares some of the lessons it has learned in its mission to make access to ‘special’ collections and archives a more ‘ordinary’ experience. The article concludes by imagining the future landscape of SpecColl, making a set of recommendations for the further development of educational activities at the department.