Using the Library, Services & Facilities

Members (excluding Remote members) will receive a membership card and information on how to use the Library on their first visit. Please bring your card with you whenever you visit as you will need it to access to the building, use a locker, borrow books and make use of our facilities. Please bring two forms of identification with you on your first visit – one should include a photo (e.g. passport, driving licence, travel card, student card, ID card) and one should include confirmation of your current address (e.g. driving licence, recent bank statement or utility bill).

New nominees who have been switched onto an Institutional membership can collect a new membership card on their first visit to the Library.

Your card remains valid for the duration of your membership. Personal memberships are non-transferable and the Library may be used only by the person named on the membership card. If your card is lost or stolen, please contact us. 

Individual inductions can be booked

here. 

The London Library has approximately 160 quiet desks spread across the building. Many are in our five atmospheric reading rooms but individual desks can be found in the stacks amongst the books.

Desks are on a first-come-first-served basis and cannot be reserved in advance unless there is an accessibility need.  If you are struggling to find a space to work, please do ask staff in the Issue Hall.  

Rooms in the 6th Floor Suite are non-silent, informal spaces for group or individual work where phone/video calls can be made and food and drinks consumed.  There are two non-soundproof phone booths which can be booked for up to one hour per day or used if free. The 6th floor meeting room is only available to Library members and can be booked by contacting us. We cannot reserve this space for visitors with a Daily or Weekly Pass and it is not available for hire. 

Wifi is available throughout the Library and laptops may be used in all spaces except for The Study.  In The Study tablets and eReaders can be used for reading only but separate keyboards are not permitted. 

All members can borrow 15 books at a time.

The standard borrowing allowance for Institutional members is 15 volumes at a time.

The standard borrowing allowance for Schools membership is 25 volumes at a time.

Increased lending allowance can be purchased in increments of 5 volumes, up to a maximum total allowance of 40. To increase your allowance, please email the Membership team or phone 020 7766 4720.

Most books can be kept for at least one month initially and are automatically renewed unless requested by another member. New books are available to borrow for 14 days; they may be renewed if not requested by another member. Failure to return books when requested to do so by staff could result in the suspension of your membership.

There are no overdue fines but we do ask that books are returned to the Library for renewal once a year so that we can assess their condition. All members are liable for the full cost of replacing any books not returned or renewed on request, that are outstanding at the end of membership or if they are significantly damaged. 

You can request books to be put aside for you or recalled by using our catalogue. Alternatively you can contact the Issue Desk by email or telephone. When a book is ready for collection you will be sent an email and it will be available for collection for two weeks. 

Books can be collected on your behalf but you must email the Issue Desk in advance to arrange this. 

Members have access to our collection of one million volumes. While some 97% of these books are available to discover on our shelves and available for loan, some more fragile materials are kept in locked storage.

These items can be made available for consultation under invigilation but the Library requires at least 72 hours notice to arrange this. 

Items from the Library’s Special Collections cannot be borrowed but may be consulted in the Library under supervised conditions, given 72 hours’ notice. Contact us for more information. 

We add around 5,000 books to our collection each year and we welcome suggestions from members for both new and older titles that would be an appropriate addition to the collection. The Acquisitions & Discovery team review every title suggested and around 95% of titles are approved.

Find out more about growing our collection and how to suggest a book. 

Staff are on hand to help with member enquiries, bibliographic checking and subject searching. Where enquiries fall outside the scope of the collections, staff will identify appropriate alternative libraries and collections. Contact us for research and reference assistance. 

The Library offers a postal loans service to members who are unable to visit the Library in person. Books can be requested online and then sent to your home address. There are charges for postage and vouchers to cover the cost can be purchased from the Library’s online shop. Please note that members are responsible for the item from the moment it leaves the Library to the moment it is received back at the Library and therefore care should be taken when returning items through the post.

The Library participates in the national inter-library loan schemes and it is possible for us to obtain materials from outside our collection for members. There is an additional cost for this service.

The Library is a shared space and values the warm and welcoming atmosphere. Please use the building with consideration for other members.  

Read our full byelaws, rules & conduct but please be mindful that:

• No food or drink (other than bottled water in a sealed container) is permitted anythere other than the 6th Floor
• No bags larger than A4 may be taken beyond the Issue Hall
• Phone and video calls are not permitted anywhere other than the 6th Floor
• Please treat staff and other members with consideration.

Navigate 17 miles of shelves using the Library map during your visit.

This map is also displayed throughout the building, showing you how to get from the stacks, to the reading rooms, to the issue hall and back again; which you can access via the main lift or the stairs.

The Library has no capacity to store items for members overnight. Day lockers are available and are opened and closed using your membership card. 

• Free WiFi is located around the Library and can be accessed using a password which is available at the Library. 
• Laptops and other reading devices may be used throughout the building. 
•  Some desks in the bookstack areas have an accessible power supply. 
• Personal equipment should never be left unattended and is used at your own risk. 
• Secure laptop lockers are located in the Basement; keys are available at Reception.

• Self-service, card-operated photocopying and scanning facilities are provided in the Catalogue Hall (charge payable). 
• Copiers are not licensed for any commercial copying of material in copyright under the provisions of the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations (2003). 
• All photocopying of Library material is subject to copyright restrictions and preservation considerations. 
• Members may request copies from books, periodicals, pamphlets, and electronic publications to be sent to them, subject to copyright restrictions and preservation considerations, at a small additional charge. Please contact Country Orders to use this service.

• Bags and cases may not be taken into the Library and should be left in the lockers provided in the Issue Hall. 
• Transparent bags are provided for use in the Library. 
• Coats and umbrellas may be left in the cloakroom area, at members’ own risk.

• The Library has a bicycle shed for any members wishing to visit the Library by bicycle. 
• To set up access to the bike shed please visit the Reception team at T.S. Eliot House with your membership card. Please note the Library cannot safely accommodate eBikes or their batteries inside the building.

• Toilets are located in the Basement (Ladies, Gentlemen and Accessible), off the green staircase (Gentlemen on the first floor, Ladies on the second floor), off the T.S. Eliot House staircase (Ladies on the mezzanine floor, Gentlemen on the second floor) and on the 6th Floor (Ladies, and Gentlemen).
• There are also two unisex toilets on the sixth floor.  

• Level access into the building is available from Mason’s Yard via a platform lift, with trained staff on hand to assist with its operation if required. 
• Two wheelchair-accessible lifts serve all reading rooms and the majority of floors in the Central Stack, St James’s Building, and T.S. Eliot House 
• Specific reader spaces or areas may be booked in advance for those with access-related needs
• Accessible toilets in the basement reached via the main lift
• There is a portable induction loop at Reception
• Video screen reader available for those with visual impairments and magnifying glasses available on request
• Staff are always available to retrieve books and deliver them to wherever needed within the Library.