Search our Collection
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.
The heart of our collection
Our collection of one million volumes dates from 1500 to the present day, mainly spanning the Arts and Humanities. Four strongest subject areas are supported by biography and bibliography, and thousands of specialist topics with material on subjects ranging from military history and architecture to folklore, bookbinding, travel writing and genealogy.
Organised alphabetically by subject, books from 1700 onwards sit side by side on open shelves, allowing readers to trace the development of ideas and discover connections across time periods, disciplines and generations. Enjoy a collection designed for exploration, where planned research and unexpected discovery collide.
Literature & Fiction
A breadth and depth of contemporary and historical novels hard to match elsewhere. Includes works originally written in English, translated works and extensive foreign language Literature across French, German, Russian, Italian and Spanish, and more. The Literature collection is complemented by a separate Philology section.
Art
From painting, architecture and design to theatre, cinema, music and photography, this internationally representative collection supports creative practice, scholarship and cultural research across the arts.
History
One of the largest in the Library, our history collection encompasses a wide variety of historical approaches including social, economic and cultural studies, historiography, theories of history and counterfactual history.
Science & Miscellaneous
A miscellaneous collection of topics such as aviation, folklore, gardens, love, sport, vegetarianism and windmills ranging from 18th-21st century. This large, uniquely diverse collection encompasses all of the Library’s holdings on subjects outside the main subject areas.
Biography
The large Biography collection covers all biographical and autobiographical works about individuals, families or collectives and includes diaries, journals, correspondence and speeches. It is representative of the wider collection, so works on or by artists, writers, religious figures and all other individuals will be found here rather than in other parts of the collection.
Other subject areas
The Library’s collection contains further large sections including Topography, Religion, Philosophy, Bibliography and Philology. We also hold extensive collections of periodicals and society publications, online journals and databases.
How to register and search the catalogue
Follow instructions for our single sign-on service and how to search the catalogue to access the full range of eResources and catalogue features.
How to use our eBook collection
Follow our guidance on using Overdrive to access our growing eBook collection.