Archive & Special Collections

Explore The London Library's Archives and Special Collections: rare books, papers and records charting literary and cultural history since the 1500s.

The London Library’s Archives & Special Collections hold some of the Library’s most fascinating and historically significant materials, offering insight into literary, cultural and intellectual history from the sixteenth century onwards.

A conservator brushing paste along the gutter of an open book beside an engraved plate.

The Archive

An exhibition wall headed "Our Collection", with display panels and an open book in a glass case.

The archive documents the Library’s institutional history and the lives of the readers and writers connected to it through membership forms, correspondence, committee records and ephemera.

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Special Collections

Rows of gilt-decorated miniature books arranged on a bindery workbench.

The Special Collections include antiquarian books, pamphlets, maps, rare journals, atlases and unique thematic collections held in closed access.

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Search our collection

Search The London Library catalogue to discover one million volumes and thousands of online resources to support your reading and research. Our collection dates from 1500 to the present day with subjects mainly spanning the Arts and Humanities.

Access the catalogue from wherever you are - within the Library or at home.

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Search our Collection
When the Library opened its doors in 1841 the collection consisted of only 3,000 books. Today we hold over 1 million volumes and continue to add around 6,000 new ones every year.