Our plans for Phase One of the project (the Discovery Room and basement kitchen) are progressing well and we are currently running a tender process to select a building contractor to carry out the works. The selection process should be completed in June and we are aiming to commence building works in July, to take advantage of a quieter period in the Library over summer. We will provide further details of any potential disruption for members nearer the time and shall aim to keep any inconvenience to a minimum.

This week we shall also be submitting our application to Westminster Council for planning permission in respect of Phase Two (the 6th floor renovation, roof terrace and lift). The planning process is expected to take several months and will provide formal planning feedback on our initial designs. Our design work on this part of the project is therefore temporarily on hold while we await the Council’s response.

Our building improvements are intended to help us increase our public impact, make our collection more accessible, support the needs of our growing membership, and ensure our long-term sustainability.

We are pleased to announce that we have added the Daily Mail Historical Archive 1896-2016 to our extensive range of online resources. The Daily Mail Archive complements our other newspaper archives, including the Guardian & Observer, The Times & Sunday Times, The Telegraph and the British Newspaper Archive. 

Giles Milton, former trustee and Chair of the Collections Committee, says "The London Library already has a superb collection of online newspapers containing international, national and local news over many hundred of years. The addition of the Daily Mail archive will be hugely beneficial to historians like myself, as well as being a rich resource for all who are curious to learn more about the social and political history of a bygone era."

To access the Daily Mail Historical Archive, go to Catalyst and scroll down to select it from the Newspapers or A - Z collections of resources. And while you're there, check out our full range of resources. 

From Monday 7 April until June, building works will be carried out in the staff offices in T.S. Eliot House (see building map), which will cause some disruption to members in that specific area. The noisiest works will take place outside of Library opening hours but there will be some disruption on and around the 2nd floor of T.S. Eliot House, during April and parts of May, and on the Mezzanine floor in May and June. 

Additionally, there will be some noise disruption to a small area of the back basement in late April for around one week as part of the creation of storage area for the Library’s archive and rare books. 

We will also be commencing the move of some of our periodical and society titles from the basement to our off-site store, which will impact members using the basement study spaces and collections. The first move will start from Monday 7 April and last approximately three weeks, followed by a further four-week period starting in mid-May, and daily book moves taking place until the end of July.

We always aim to keep disruption caused by necessary works to a minimum and we will keep members updated about which areas will be impacted through signage in the building. Please speak to staff in the Issue Hall if you need help finding a study space.