NAME AND ADDRESS
British Library of Political and Economic Science, 10 Portugal Street, London WC2A 2HD
Library.Information.Desk@lse.ac.uk
http://www.lse.ac.uk/library
(020) 7955 7229
(020) 7955 7454
The LSE archives section is on the Lower Ground floor. Other collections of interest to historians are located elsewhere in the Library (principally on the Third floor). Always check the catalogues for location of materials.
Michaelmas and Lent Terms and Easter Vacation
Main Library
| Monday - Sunday | 0800 -2400 * |
Archives
| Monday - Thursday | 1000 - 2000 |
| Friday | 1000 - 1700 |
| Saturday | 1100 - 1800 |
Summer term
*24- hour opening for current LSE staff and students, 7 days a week.
*Visitors 0900 – 2400
Summer Vacations
Main Library
| Monday - Friday | 0900 - 2000 |
| Saturday and Sunday | 1000 - 2000** |
Archives
| Monday - Thursday | 1000 - 2000 |
| Friday | 1000 - 1700 |
*= First and last hour staffed by security only. No reader service available and access is to card holders only.
**= Staffed by security only throughout the day. No reader service available and access is to card holders only.
Christmas and Summer Vacations
Main Library
| Monday - Friday | 0900 - 2000 |
| Saturday | 1000 - 2000 |
Archives
| Monday - Thursday | 1000 - 2000 |
| Friday | 1000 - 1700 |
Opening hours differ on public holidays and around Easter and Christmas week. At those times, details will be posted in the Library and on the web site at: http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/whisthliop.htm
ACCESS
All categories of user are admitted to the library without charge except those from commercial organisations. Academic staff and research students from SCONUL institutions are granted access at any time as are taught course students from University of London institutions. The Library is a member of the SCONUL access scheme which permits limited borrowing for those academic staff and research students whose institutions are also members. Taught course degree students from UK universities which are SCONUL members or UK Libraries Plus members may apply for a Study Permit for reference access to the Library, providing the required material is unavailable at their home institution library. The Library is a member of the UK Libraries Plus scheme which allows reference access during the current academic year for those whose institutions are members. Other, non-academic and non-business, users should be prepared to bring a letter stating why they need to use the Library. There is no access to course collection material during term-time for non-LSE staff and students. See the web page “Admission to the Library” (http:www.lse.ac.uk/library/wcutl/whcausthl.htm) or contact the Admissions section before travelling.
Intercollegiate History students studying at the LSE are granted full borrowing rights. Access to the archive collections is available to anyone with appropriate identification.
1,600 distributed across the five floors of the Library. There is no separate history library. The archives reading room has 16 user places.
Jean Sykes
HEAD OF LIBRARY SERVICES
Maureen Wade
STAFF AVAILABILITY
The information desk on the First floor is staffed from 0900 - 2000 on weekdays and throughout the Library's opening hours at weekends from 1100 to 1800. The Archivist will be pleased to answer enquiries on the manuscript collections by post, email (document@lse.ac.uk) or in person. It is advisable for readers to give the Archivist prior notice of their intention to use the archive collections for the first time.
The library catalogue (http://catalogue.lse.ac.uk) enables searching to be done for the Library’s holdings of books, journal titles, pamphlets, government publications, theses and working papers. Material held which is not catalogued include: Journal articles; USA Federal Government documents; UK Parliamentary papers; United Nations “masthead” documents; individual titles from microform collections. There is a separate Archives catalogue; see the page at: http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/archive/Default.htm.
Library of Congress classification is used for most of the library's stock. Government publications are not classified but are arranged by country or international organisation, each with its separate sequences of monographs and periodicals
The library has an extensive collection on modern political, economic and social history in most European languages.
The Library has received a depository set of US Federal Government documents since 1903. It also holds comprehensive sets of the publications of such bodies as the United Nations, International Labour Office and the European Union. It holds the major collection of British Government publications in its subject field in the University. The Library also has a large collection of government publications from all over the world. The collection is particularly strong on statistics both current and historical. There is an interesting collection of the publications of the Allied Control Commissions for Germany in the immediate post-1945 period. The Library also holds over 1400 archive collections supporting research across the social sciences, including collections relating to politicians, political parties, pressure groups, social investigation, social welfare, anthropology and lesbian and gay activism.
Photocopying and microform printing facilities are provided.
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