Brian Alderson (b. 1930) is a pioneer of children’s literature studies in Britain as a distinguished author, reviewer, and translator. He has also collected books for more than 60 years, beginning when he was an undergraduate with cheap editions of work by poets Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot. His interest in children’s books came later but soon became a lifelong passion, resulting in the curation of a collection of over 20,000 books, dating from the 17th century to the present day. This collection, donated jointly to the University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children's Books, represents a vast and diverse distinctive resource.

The Burnett Collection of children's literature was presented by Professor Mark Burnett (Queen's University Belfast) and contains books and annuals which were mostly published in the early to mid-Twentieth Century. It includes such titles as: Timothy's quest (1900), The boy's adventure book (1935), The Flying Five and other stories of adventure and school life (1936), and Girl's fun annual (1952).

The Butler Collection is a collection of children's literature which had been created by Mary Thwaite and further developed by Joan Butler, both librarians for Hertfordshire Library Services. It was jointly acquired by the Robinson Library and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books.The collection includes eighteenth-century pamphlets and books such as Young, Rev. J. The perils of Paul Percival or the Young Adventurer (c.1841), Ballantyne, R.M. The gorilla hunters: a tale of the wilds of Africa (1897), Banks, A. Cheep and chatter or lessons from field and tree (1884) and works by such well-known children's writers as Hans Christian Andersen, J.M. Barrie, Frances Hogson Burnett, James Fenimore Cooper and Daniel Defoe as well as books illustrated by Randolph Caldecott.

The Chorley Collection, presented by Sarah Chorley, comprises children's literature chiefly from the Nineteenth Century and first decades of the Twentieth Century. Highlights include Kate Greenaway's Almanack for 1884 (1883) R.M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island (1876) and The Giants and How to Fight Them (1904) by the Rev. Richard Newton. There are also several works by the highly influential children's book illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886).

The collection features 37 early 20th century first editions of short stories and novels by writer and activist Eleanor Luisa Haverfield: most are signed first editions and bear presentation inscriptions, very often addressed either to the author’s sister Dorothy or to other women.

The Pollard Collection was brought together by Mr Eric Pollard and was purchased from the family with support from the Friends of the University Library in 2011. It focuses on the author, Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) being particularly rich in early editions of his works. The collection includes a series of short stories, published as 'The Railway Library', which made Kipling's name as a writer in India, England and America. There are also many of his classic novels and works of children's literature such as Puck of Pook's Hill. During the First World War, Kipling devoted his writing to the war effort and this is represented in the collection too. Besides printed books the Pollard Collection includes cuttings and ephemera relating to Kipling as well as 16 colour folio plates by the artists Maurice and Edward Detmold, produced to illustrate the 1908 Macmillan octavo edition of The Jungle Book.