Literature Collection Guide

Scope of the collection

The library has a long tradition of accommodating and supporting the work of great writers. The Literature collection is one of the largest and most widely used collections in the London Library. The print collection comprises novels, poetry, drama and anthologies alongside accompanying works of criticism and commentary. In addition, the Library subscribes to many other print and online periodicals, journals and resources that can help to supplement your reading and research. 

Founded in 1841, the Library’s collection has grown each year and we hold titles from the late 18th century onwards on the open shelves.  As a result, our collection reflects the evolution and changes in thinking in a particular subject and does mean that you may come across titles which contain ideas and vocabulary that would be considered abhorrent today. The collection continues to grow with some 5,000 new titles being added each year. As we develop the collection, we seek to ensure that the controversial topics of today are represented from all sides of a debate. 

Understanding shelfmarks

The Library’s collection is divided into broad subject areas (e.g. History, Literature, and Topography) and then into smaller areas, arranged alphabetically. Within each subject category, books are arranged alphabetically by their author’s surname or, in the case of edited collections or books with multiple authors, by their title.  Check the Catalogue record for the ‘shelved under’ information. 

In order to make the most effective use of space, the collection is also shelved by size. Check the end of shelfmarks for the notations 4to. (Quarto), Small Folio, Folio, and Folio Extra Large, which may indicate a different place to look for the books.   

Above is an example of a book record from the Catalogue.  Here you can see that the book is available (i.e. on the shelf) at in the Literature section (L.), in the sub-section for Literature, Hist. of (Gen) and then shelved under the author Davies-Strodder.  

Labels on the edges of the shelves will guide you through the section. Some shelfmarks are large, such as L. French Fiction and are subdivided further by letters marking the authors’ surnames (or titles in the case of edited collections).  

Books may be requested and put aside ready for collection, but we would always encourage members to browse the shelves and discover books serendipitously. Items from the Library’s Special Collections cannot be borrowed but may be consulted in the Library under supervised conditions, given 72 hours’ notice. 

Books and eBooks

The Library’s collection includes both academic eBooks and other fiction and non-fiction eBooks available through the Libby platform. All academic eBooks will appear in your search results in the Library Catalogue. Those available through Libby are also in our Catalogue but can also be searched separately through the Libby platform, which you also need in order to access these titles.

The bulk of the Literature collection can be found on the 2nd-4th floors of the St. James’s Building. However, as you can see below, due to its size the beginning and end of the collection has expanded into the adjoining Central Stack. As with the rest of the London Library collection, larger volumes are shelved in sequence in separate quarto (4to.) or folio sections.

2nd floor, Central Stack

L. Literature, Hist. of (Gen.), L. Afghan Lit.  L. English Lit., Bysshe Literature, folio.

2nd Floor, St James’s Building 

L. English Lit. C-  L. French Fiction, Merle L. Literature, Hist. of (Gen.), 4to., L. Afghan Lit., 4to.  L. French Lit., Trans., 4to.

3rd floor, Central Stack

L. French Fiction, Mérot  L. French Lit, Ionesco

3rd floor, St. James’s Building

L. French Lit., J-  L. Greek & Latin Texts &c., Tzetzes L. German Drama, Hist. of, 4to.  L. Wit & Humour, 4to.

4th floor, St. James’s Building

L. Greek & Latin Texts &c., Valerius Flaccus  L. Wit & Humour

Fiction in the English language

Before you begin browsing the Literature stacks it please be aware that the London Library shelves all works of fiction in the English language, including those that have been translated into English from another language, under the separate shelfmark of ‘Fiction’. An author’s collected stories will also be kept in this section. The Fiction collection is arranged alphabetically by author and then title. Authors A-R can be found on 2nd floor of the Central Stack with S-Z shelved on the Mezzanine level directly below.  

Books may be requested and put aside ready for collection, but we would always encourage members to browse the shelves and discover books serendipitously. Items from the Library’s Special Collections cannot be borrowed but may be consulted in the library under supervised conditions, given 72 hours’ notice.

Shelfmarks

Books in the Literature collection can be identified by the prefix ‘L.’ in their shelfmark. Works within the collection are generally, although not exclusively, arranged by the language in which they were first written. It is worth noting that this may not correspond to the author’s native language or their country of birth. For example, works by South American writers can be found in L. Spanish or L. Portuguese. This may also mean that works by authors who wrote in more than one language, such as the Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett, may appear in more than one part of the collection.

Where there are a substantial number of volumes in a language shelfmark it will be subdivided using some, if not all, of the following categories:

Please be aware that shelfmarks will only be subdivided into, for example, ‘fiction’ or ‘drama’ categories where there are sufficient works to do so. Otherwise, everything will be shelved under the standard ‘L._____’ shelfmark.

Throughout the collection you will also find more general shelfmarks which house works not exclusive to any particular language or writer. These include

• L. Literature, Hist. of (Gen.)
• L. Anthologies
• L. Medieval Literature
• L. Reynard the Fox
• L. Wit and Humour

Within each shelfmark, original works will be arranged alphabetically by author. Once you have found the author you are looking for within the shelfmark, you will find their works arranged as follows:

1. Collected and complete works in date order, earliest to latest.
2. Selected works in date order, earliest to latest.
3. Single works arranged alphabetically by title and then, where more than one edition is held, in date order earliest to latest.
4. Commentary and criticism related to that author and their work arranged alphabetically by author of the criticism or, in the case of works without an overall author, by the first main word in the title. 

Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe and Voltaire: ‘The Big Four’

In the case of most writers in the Literature collection, any biographical works about them will be shelved in the Biography collection (Biog., 4th & 3rd floors of the Central Stack). The only exceptions to this rule are biographical works relating to Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe and Voltaire which will be shelved within their sections in the literature collection. This is because it has been judged that due to their fame and the sheer amount that is written about them, biographical works and criticism of their work is often intrinsically linked and for that reason should not be separated. As works by and about these writers are extensive take up a great deal of space they are shelved in a slightly different way, however they still follow the same basic principal of works followed by criticism. For further advice on finding books within these sections, please ask a member of staff.

Journals, eJournals and online resources

In addition to the book collection, the Library also subscribes to many literary journals, periodicals and magazines that are available for use by all members. These include:

• The Author
• Granta
• The Literary Review
• The Times Literary Supplement
• The Poetry Review
• The New York Review of Books
• The London Review of Books
• The New Criterion

As with all periodicals at the London Library, current and recent issues will be kept in the Reading Room for reference use before being bound and shelved in the Periodicals collection in the Basement

The Library also subscribes to many online journals and databases that can aide your literary studies. These include:

• The Complete Prose of T.S. Eliot
• Early English Books Online
• Eighteenth Century Collections Online
• English Poetry
• JSTOR
• Loeb Classical Library
• London Review of Books
• New York Review of Books
• The Times, Sunday Times and TLS archive
• The New Oxford Shakespeare
• The Works of Ben Jonson

All of these services can be accessed in the Library and remotely once you have signed in to the Catalogue.