The Library’s strategy to create space for growth of new stock moves to its next phase with the removal of foreign government publications, commencing in mid-August. The Library holds around 75 linear metres of both US and Indian government publications, but neither collection is by any means comprehensive, and the Library largely stopped collecting these around the 1950s. The British Library and the LSE have far more comprehensive collections, available for members of the public to access, and anyone using such material for research would be far better served at these libraries. Further information about the holdings of these collections is below. If you have any comments or feedback about the removal of foreign government publications, please do contact Matthew Brooke, Director of Collections and Library Services at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Indian government publications at the British Library

The India Office Library was transferred in 1982 to the British Library, where it was amalgamated with the British Museum's holdings, and the combined collection is described as "the most comprehensive set of Indian government publications possible". Originally received under colonial legal deposit, up to independence, it extends to 14 kilometres of shelves and comprises boxes of archival papers together with 70,000 volumes of official publications and 105,000 manuscript and printed maps.  These are public records issued by four main sources:  the East India Company (1600-1858), the Board of Control (1784-1858), the India Office (1858-1947), and the Burma Office (1937-1948), as well as a number of British agencies overseas.

This collection may be consulted in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room at St Pancras, although it should be noted that some series are stored offsite at Boston Spa with a minimum delivery time of 48 hours.  This collection has not been catalogued online and has to be requested on manual tickets.  

Indian government publications at LSE Library

LSE Library has an extensive collection of official publications from pre-1947 India and its provinces.  While not as systematic and comprehensive as the India Office Library, there is a wealth of statistical, historical, legal and administrative material, including hundreds of pamphlets from political parties and campaigns.  The LSE's collection is catalogued online and has the additional advantage of being stored on open access shelves and therefore available for browsing.  

US government publications at the British Library

The British Library holds the most comprehensive collection of federal publications outside of North America. Full information can be found in the collection guide.

US government publications at LSE Library

The LSE has an exchange agreement with the United States, which ensures an extensive collection of federal publications. More information about their holdings can be found in their catalogue and on the website, including their collection policy.

The London Library is renowned as a centre of creativity and we’re always keen to showcase some of the many works that get produced here. A number of our members have been in touch recently, letting us know about new books they are publishing this Autumn. 

If you are a Member and have a new book coming out soon then we’d love to here from you, please email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Coming up in Autumn 2020

The Confession, Jessie Burton

Picador, September 2020 

Britain and Europe in Troubled Times, Vernon Bogdanor

Yale University Press, September 2020

Life & Love of the Forest, Lewis Blackwell

September 2020

Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat - A Biography, Oliver Soden

The History Press, September 2020

Lev Shestov: Philosopher of the Sleepless Night, Matthew Beaumont

September 2020

The Museum Curator’s Guide - Understanding, Managing and Presenting Objects, Nicola Pickering

Lund Humphries, September 2020

The Golden Calves of Jeraboam, Adrian Leak

September 2020

Japan's Far More Female Future, Bill Emmott

Oxford University Press, September 2020

Reluctant European: Britain and the European Union from 1945 to Brexit, Stephen Wall

Oxford University Press, September 2020

The Fragrance of Tears, Victoria Schofield

Head of Zeus, October 2020

After Ancient Biography: Modern Types and Classical Archetypes, Robert Fraser

Palgrave, October 2020

My Dearest Martha: The Life and Letters of Eliza Hillier, Andrew Hillier

Hong Kong City University Press, October 2020

After Ancient Biography: Modern Types and Classical Archetypes, Robert Fraser

Palgrave Macmillan, October 2020

Hotel du Cap Eden Roc, Alexandra Campbell

Flammarion, October 2020

Dangerous Lunatics: Trauma, Criminality, and Forensic Psychotherapy, Professor Brett Kahr

Confer Books, Autumn 2020

Heads and Boxes: A Prop Art Exhibition Collaboration, Essay by Jill Longmate

Published in ‘Brigid Brophy: Avant-Garde Writer, Critic, Activist’, edited by Richard Canning and Gerri Kimber. Edinburgh University Press, 2020

The Novotny Papers: Prostitute/Provocateur, Lilian Pizzichini

Amberley, Spring 2021

Published recently in 2020

Those Who Are Loved, Victoria Hislop

Paperback published by Headline Review, August 2020

Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, Tom Holland

Paperback published by Little Brown, August 2020

Elitism A Progressive Defence, Eliane Glaser

Biteback Books, August 2020

The Financial Times Guide to Business Coaching, Anne Scoular

Financial Times, August 2020

If I Don’t Have You, Sareeta Dominga

Jacaranda, July 2020

Bad Love, Maame Blue

Jacaranda, June 2020

Night of the Bayonets: The Texel Uprising and Hitler's Revenge April - May 1945, Eric Lee

Greenhill, April 2020

Arthur Jeffress: A Life in Art, Gill Hedley

Bloomsbury, April 2020

Mediating Empire, Andrew Hillier

Renaissance Books, April 2020

Smoke and Mirrors, Gemma Milne

Little Brown, April 2020

 Magnificence and Princely Splendour in the Middle Ages, Richard Barber

Boydell & Brewer, March 2020

Dionysus after Nietzsche: The Birth of Tragedy in Twentieth-Century Literature and Thought, Adam Lecznar

Cambridge University Press, March 2020

Magnificence and Princely Splendour in the Middle Ages, Richard Barber

Boydell & Brewer, March 2020

The Girl with the Louding Voice, Abi Daré 

Sceptre, February 2020

Strange Antics: A History of Seduction, Clement Knox

William Collins, February 2020

Escape Routes, Naomi Ishiguro

Tinder Press, February 2020 (Paperback January 2021)

John of Garland’s ‘De Triumphis Ecclesie’, Martin Hall

Brepols, February 2020

The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, Victoria Dowd

Joffe Books 2020

EW Hornung: The Emergence of a Popular Author 1866-98, Peter Rowland

Academic Press, December 2019

Nourishing the Nation: Food as National Identity in Catalonia, Venetia Congdon

Berghahn Books, December 2019

EW Hornung: The Emergence of a Popular Author, 1866-1898, Peter Rowland

Academica Press, December 2019

Nourishing the Nation: Food as National Identity in Catalonia, Venetia Johannes

Berghahn Books, November 2019

Excellent Essex: In Praise of Britain's Most Misunderstood County, Gillian Darley

Old Street Publishing, Hardback 2019; Paperback, Spring 2020

‘Dead Room’ - Mark Harris

Over the past 12 months artists Mark Harris and Bob Matthews have been immersing themselves in the collection of The London Library. This month a number of striking artworks based on the images they have found, have gone on display in the Library.

They include three large scale works - Harris’ “Dead Room” and Matthews’ “Capsule” and “Talisman” - which can be found in the Periodicals stacks and Times Room. 15 smaller pieces can be found at various locations in the Central stacks, Back stacks and Art stacks (see map). The works - which have been produced free of charge to the Library as part of Bob and Mark’s artists’ residency - will be on display for most of 2020.

L: ‘La Houle’ - Mark Harris, R: ‘Elements of Editing 2’ - Mark Harris

Looking at the collection through the visual lens

During an intense period of research Mark and Bob developed methodologies for browsing, selecting and editing visual material, and as a consequence recorded 1000’s of images digitally. The act of collecting these images has helped them capture a unique pictorial world history spanning some 300 years. Their selection process would lead eventually to dozens of significant images to work from, creating inspiration for new artworks.

As printmaking specialists, Harris and Matthews were initially drawn to the way the Library’s collection reveals the history of the printed image. The collection holds significant examples of early engraving, etching and lithography, as well as more recent photographic printing techniques.  This would lead to Harris producing Cyanotypes, an early direct photographic technique identified by its Prussian Blue appearance and ability to capture both photographic and autographic marks. Matthews technical research in the library would lead to the production of artworks using the photo-toxicity of lemons to aid the transfer of images.

‘Capsule’ - Bob Matthews

Within the Library the Periodicals section was an area that revealed many images of interests, from the 18th Century Journals of Italian Letters through to the collection of BBC Handbooks. Both artists were drawn to the idea of making site-specific artworks for the Periodicals space that would bring together a number of ideas from their research across the library. They have produced large scale pieces that are revealed through the movement of the shelving mechanism, echoing the action of a printing press. This deliberate obstructive presentation of the work refers to the many folded pages of images and diagrams that they discovered.

Additionally, across 3 levels of the Central Stacks Harris has produced a series entitled Elements of Editing that comment on the joint industrial journey that both materials and images take, as they are mined and captured, refined and edited, produced and published. Other artwork is situated throughout the Back Stacks.

‘As it Might Be...’ - Mark Harris

Bob Matthews and Mark Harris commented, “It has been an enriching and fascinating experience exploring the visual material held within the Library. We hope that the work will suggest alternative ways to access the collection and that we have sewn a seed for many more potential future projects between The London Library and the visual arts.”

Download a map showing the locations of the work