Proposed next steps

The proposed strategy is to withdraw from the collection some journal and government publication material that is available online; foreign language journal material that has ceased acquisition; obsolete material; and duplicate copies of books where these are not warranted. Additionally, the proposal is to begin a strategy to move some low-use books to off-site store, with selected foreign language works in subjects other than literature, history and art identified as a particularly low-use category with which to start.

Some drop-in sessions were held with members in January which yielded very useful feedback on the proposals, and brought many other points forward for discussion. There will be further engagement with members as the Library continues to work through its proposals, all of which are given extremely careful thought.

The following steps are proposed in our on-going collection management work:

• Foreign government publications (primarily Indian and US (75 linear metres each) plus assorted short amounts of others) – no objections were raised to their removal in the drop-in sessions with members, and no reason for these to be stored off-site was raised.

Action: Subject to some final checking, move forward with removal. 

• Duplicate copies of books – all members saw sense in de-duplicating multiple copies of books and no objections were raised.

Action: Progress with the removal of duplicate copies of books.

• Bibliography – there was useful discussion over the reference use of this collection, with some concerns raised that our usage indicators wouldn’t pick this up. There was also some concern expressed over the markings-up in place in this collection.

Action: Engage further with members to gain more views before deciding on a strategy for this collection.

• Parliamentary papers – implement project to create an electronic listing of the indexes and postpone decision as to whether to move the collection off-site until investigative work can be carried out into their uniqueness in print from in the London area.

Action: carry out data entry work.

• Short, incomplete journal holdings in all languages.

Action: Continue close investigation into these for content/relevance/reasons to keep;

• Journal material available on JSTOR and other stable, robust subscriptions –

Action: Continue checks on other holdings and at-shelf work to identify journals with significant reliance on illustrations which may be inferior in the online version. In parallel, phase subject-based listings for members on our webpages of titles for removal and for retention off-site and seek feedback.

• Books in foreign languages

Useful discussion was had around foreign language holdings. The Library proposed looking at books in foreign language where the language didn’t pertain to the content of the book, and members asked for a greater understanding of what is meant by these.

Additionally, members made further suggestions of their own relating to foreign language holdings, including:

• Remove books in languages less used by members – Polish was given as an example – noting that less space will be gained through the removal of smaller collections;
• Consider where works are held in English translations as well as the original, and usage is noticeably higher in translation;
• Identify a greater range of examples of the ‘proposed’ books (i.e. books in French about the Russian revolution) to facilitate further discussion;
• Remove content with Fraktur/Gothic script - but engaging with members for whom this affects outside of German Lit, e.g. philosophy; art theory;

Further discussion will be held with members later in 2020 about this area (see also the section on this in the summary of the drop-in sessions [insert link].)

Action: Collections Group to arrange further drop-ins on this theme for Summer or early Autumn 2020.

• Different editions:

Members also suggested that the Library carries out work on its holdings of different editions – i.e. move away from the Library’s traditional approach of holding different editions due to different prefaces, forewords, etc and reduce on-site holdings of multiple editions, particularly where these are extensive in authors such as Dickens and Shakespeare;

Action: Collections Group to investigate this further.

-Matthew Brooke, March 2020

Collection management update 

December 2020

In 2019 the Library drew members’ attention to the new ‘Collection Capacity Management Strategy’, which is designed to better manage the space available within the Library to house our historic book collection and to allow the continued growth of new publications. As the next phase of this strategy, in the New Year we will move a selection of the periodicals held in the basement to off-site store. All titles to be moved are duplicated online and are available to members, either through the Library's subscriptions, such as JSTOR, or on open access websites, including Gallica and Biodiversity Heritage Library. Members will also be able to request print volumes of these periodicals through Catalyst, and they will be retrieved from the offsite store with two working days' notice.  

 A number of journals that are available online but which we know are well used in print at the Library will be retained on-site. The list of journals proposed for removal to off-site store is here. If there are any specific titles that members wish to retain on-site, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Once the periodicals have been removed, a minor rearrangement of stock will be carried out and some additional temporary desk space will be made available whilst social distancing restrictions continue to reduce our available desks by a third.

Collection Management Drop-in Sessions January 9 and 14: Member Feedback

The proposed collection capacity management strategy is to withdraw from the collection some journal and government publication material that is available online; foreign language journal material that has ceased acquisition; obsolete material; and duplicate copies of books where these are not warranted. Additionally, the proposal is to begin a strategy to move some low-use books to off-site store, with selected foreign language works in subjects other than literature, history and art identified as a particularly low-use category with which to start.

The Library held 7 drop-in sessions which were attended by a total of 31 members. They produced a lot of lively discussion which will be extremely helpful to the Collections Team and the Collections Committee in considering how best to move forward through this very difficult task.

Key points raised by members are covered in the FAQs.

The points of the strategy which caused the greatest amount of discussion were around the nature and characteristics of the existing London Library collection, foreign language material, and communications with members. A summary of the feedback on these issues, and our responses to these, follows:

The nature of The London Library Collection

Members sought to ensure that the Library staff understood the attraction of the Library’s collection. Comments included the following points: that the eccentricity of the collection is a major reason for joining the Library, and we should be careful not to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ and lose the quirkiness of the collection; that whilst librarians may have tidy minds, the eclectic mix to be found on the shelves is part of the Library’s unique value; that whilst there may well be a move towards electronic collection building, it is the extensive print collections that may be borrowed that are unique to The London Library; that many libraries no longer feel like places of scholarship, whilst The London Library has retained that atmosphere.

Response:

We have no desire or intention to erode the unique characteristics of the Library’s collection. Whilst we do believe that a greater reliance can be placed on electronic sources which duplicate extensive print holdings of periodicals and other long series such as government publications, we are fully appreciative of the breadth and depth of material that has been accrued over time and the uniqueness of the collection that we have. Our aim is therefore to handle the necessary reduction in stock held on-site with the utmost care, to ensure that the essential characteristics of the Library’s collection are not eroded.

Foreign language material

Members wished to ensure that the importance of the foreign language books was understood. Foreign language titles in Art, History and Philosophy, particularly nineteenth century editions, are important and to lose them would have implications for those researching the history of these subjects. There was a variety of viewpoints put forward, with one member suggesting that whilst he had borrowed eastern European books from the Library, the collection was not strong in some languages from that region so these could be candidates for withdrawal; it was acknowledged that German works in Fractur (gothic script) were almost illegible to most readers of German, but that removing this material would also impact upon the extent of some collections such as early art theory; the Russian literature collection is known to be strong by those who use it; poetry was given as an example of something which is arguably best read in the original language and it was felt that the Library ought to have better collections of poetry from other countries and cultures.

Response:

The feedback gained through discussions on foreign language material was extremely useful. This is an area where we will engage much more with members through further meetings to explore various options. The low circulation figures for foreign language material (of which there is a large amount) might make it a good candidate for off-site storage. However, this is merely a starting point for discussion, and further engagement with members over how to take such a matter forward will be arranged for later in 2020.

Communications with members

Members were keen to hear of any proposed plans before material is actually removed from the Library. There were requests to share as much information as possible about the Library’s collection management strategy, using more channels of communication and not just the e-newsletter; to let members know in advance what is planned to allow for feedback and safeguard against any assumptions being made about apparent low-usage of material that may be being consulted within the Library only; where possible, to post lists of material to be withdrawn or moved off-site on the website.

Response:

These drop-in sessions have been extremely useful, and are the very start of how we wish to engage with members over the ongoing collection strategy. There were articles in the Library magazine in 2019, as well as e-newsletter communications about government publications, but it does seem as though these are not reaching all members. We will endeavour to widen communications about our plans (for example, by creating these web-pages), and, as is mentioned above, engage in in-depth consultation with members through meetings where we feel we need detailed, qualitative input from members.  

The London Library’s shelves are operationally full. Space needs to be made for future acquisitions, as well as to house the existing collection in better conditions which alleviates the danger of damage to the stock, and improves the browsing experience for members.

The Library is embarking on a programme to reduce holdings of some material, and exploring the options for out-storing some items too. This work is being carried out over 2020 and 2021 in order to create space on our shelves, and with an on-going strategy thereafter to keep shelves at an optimal capacity.

This work is being carried out by the Collections Team, led by Matthew Brooke, Director of Collections and Library Services, with the Heads of the Acquisitions, Collection Care and Member Services teams. The work is overseen by the Collections Committee, chaired by Giles Milton.

Collection management update 

May 2022

As the London Library shelfmark scheme is unique, we keep it under regular review to ensure that books can easily be found.

We have recently reviewed our shelfmark ‘S. Women’ to ensure that we place books that talk about women’s place in history, science etc. alongside those written about men. As a result, we removed the shelfmark ‘S. Women’ and redistributed these books to over 40 shelfmarks across the library where they will be better discovered by those interested in these topics.

As a further result of this review, we identified a gap around books on feminism and feminist theory, so created a ‘S. Feminism’ shelfmark to ensure these books were shelved together. We also identified books on gender identify, sexuality, etc. Within general books on sex (e.g. history of prostitution) so moved these to a new shelfmark of S. Gender & Sexuality.

March 2022

In the next stage of our project to create space on the shelves for new acquisitions, we will be moving 60 titles from Periodicals 4to. to our offsite store in Oxfordshire.

All of these titles are available online through JSTOR or another reliable provider and, as with the 8vo. (the Periodicals we moved offsite last year), members can request any volume to consult in print and we will have it retrieved. Browse the list of titles here.

December 2020

As the next phase of this strategy, in the New Year we will move a selection of the periodicals held in the basement to off-site store. All titles to be moved are duplicated online and are available to members, either through the Library's subscriptions, such as JSTOR, or on open access websites, including Gallica and Biodiversity Heritage Library. Members will also be able to request print volumes of these periodicals through Catalyst, and they will be retrieved from the offsite store with two working days' notice.  

 A number of journals that are available online but which we know are well used in print at the Library will be retained on-site. The list of journals proposed for removal to off-site store is here. If there are any specific titles that members wish to retain on-site, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Once the periodicals have been removed, a minor rearrangement of stock will be carried out and some additional temporary desk space will be made available whilst social distancing restrictions continue to reduce our available desks by a third.

Further information about the strategy can be found through the following links:

Collection drop-in sessions: member feedback

Collection strategy implementation

Foreign government publications

Collection management – FAQs

Feedback about the strategy is welcome. Please send comments to Matthew Brooke, Director of Collections and Library Services: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.