Although our building is closed during lockdown, members can continue to use our free postal loans service and our online services.
Our online collection offers a vast range of material for anyone carrying out research at home. With over a million pages of articles and information from more than 25,000 sources it’s an extensive collection in its own right.
We offer access to eBooks through OverDrive who offer a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction eBooks, and a range of audiobooks.
We also have an excellent postal loans service and we are currently able to post books to members free of charge.
Whether you’re carrying out historic research, working on an academic research project or simply wishing to stay in touch with the literary world, our Library is a goldmine!
Our Online Resources
Academic resources
Through JSTOR you can access a huge digital library of academic journals, books, primary sources and periodicals. London Library membership provides free access to most of JSTOR's content, which subscribed to separately normally costs around £200 per annum.
Members also have access to a vast collection of historic research material through hundreds of publications including The Bibliography of British and Irish History, British History Online, the Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1913, the Survey of London and The British Newspaper Archive, plus much more.
Newspaper archives and historic publications
As a London Library member you’ll be able to use the full digital archives of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, and The Observer, plus the extensive British Newspaper Archive, the 17th-18th Century Burney Newspapers Collection and more!
This enormous range of archival material is perfect for researching from home - whether you’re working on an academic research project, writing a novel or working on your family history.
Our subscriptions to historic publications - such as the Illustrated London News and the Country Life archive - provide a wealth of information, much of it beautifully illustrated, that is ideal for both work and pleasure.
Literary resources
An extensive collection of literary journals and collections is available if you’re looking to stay in touch with the literary world. London Library membership gives access to titles such as the complete archive of The London Review of Books, New York Review of Books, English Poetry, The Complete Prose of T S Eliot archive, Early English Books Online and many more.
Art
Our online art resources offer a wealth of material for art researchers and art historians. As well as access to all of the art journals available through JSTOR we also provide use of the International Bibliography of Art, Oxford Art Online and more.
Languages
The London Library’s language collection is extensive. Membership gives access to European language newspapers and publications such as Die Zeit/Literatur book reviews and Gallica: The digital library of the national library of France. We also offer Russian literature, language, history and art publications.
Online Research support
Our Member Services team is on hand to help you get the most out of using our online services and to provide enquiry and research services by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Such help may include:
Helping you identify sources and journal articles in the e-Library relevant to your research or interest
Guidance on how to use the online resources if you have not used them greatly before and would like assistance on how best to approach your research.
Our Book Collection and Postal Loans
Our online resources are complemented by a book collection of extraordinary range and depth. The London Library has over one million books dating from 1700 to the present day, almost all of which can be borrowed.
We have an outstanding postal loans service - you can continue borrowing books by ordering them online and we will then post them to you free of charge. We would normally charge for packing and postage but we have, for now, decided to waive those charges. We have also decided to extend every member’s existing borrowing limit by five books for the duration of the current Library closure, again, free of charge.
Members are able to return books to us either through the letterbox at our St James's Square entrance or by post to 14 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LG.
Find out more about our postal loans service.
eBooks
As the owner of a collection of over one million books, The London Library remains a proud bastion of the printed word. But through our eLibrary we offer a vast amount of material online, we have now made our first foray into the expanding world of eBooks through OverDrive who offer a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction eBooks, and a range of audiobooks.
We have identified a number of titles that are in high demand in the Library and have purchased additional copies as eBooks. We have also purchased some fiction that we see circulating quite highly in the Library, such as books which have won awards of various kinds. Additionally, we have included a set of classics that are being made freely available by Duke Classics during the pandemic.
Members can access our eBook selection either through the OverDrive website, or through an app called Libby which brings together OverDrive content offered by a wide range of libraries. Members are welcome to make recommendations regarding new e-books for the Library to acquire, similar to our book suggestions scheme.
Events
The London Library runs an ecclectic and vibrant events programme and offers free online events.
New Members
If you are not currently a member of The London Library now is an ideal time to join! Our Remote Access membership is perfect for providing you with thousands of reading resources while you’re at home, while joining as a Full Member will mean you are supporting the future of the Library during this difficult time and will be able to use all of our services - including being able to borrow from a collection of over one million books - when we re-open our building.
All of our memberships can be given as gifts.
