Introduction
Senate House Library constitutes one of the largest humanities and social science-focussed libraries in the UK HE community and it includes many collections of national and international importance. Senate House Library’s first justification lies in the services it delivers across the University of London. The funding it receives in recognition of its national role also acknowledges the way in which its resources support the research activities of academic and other communities from across the UK and beyond.
The Library has been continuously and actively developed since the 1870s although its history goes back to 1838. Its holdings amount to some 2 million titles and are concentrated primarily across the wider Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, though it provides basic reference tools in science and medicine and maintains significant collections in the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine. About 5,500 current periodical titles are received.
Senate House Library is the largest constituent part of the University of London Research Library Services. It includes the libraries of the Institutes of Commonwealth Studies, Germanic Studies, and Latin American Studies. Its mission and purpose sit within those of the University of London Research Library Services as a whole.
