Portuguese
Collection overview
The collection forms part of the Romance Studies collections.
It is a relatively compact collection with a definite emphasis on the post-war period.
It includes material from Portuguese-speaking Africa, but not Latin America, since Brazilian Portuguese literature and material on Brazilian Portuguese are shelved with the Latin American and Caribbean Studies collection (see separate guide).
Collection strengths include:
- Emphasis on literature, with primary texts collected mainly in the original language
- A focus on contemporary authors
- Good holdings in post-colonial literatures
- Substantial holdings of related periodical literature and Special Collections material
Collection location
- Most books are located on the 5th floor
- All items available on open access will display the location PORTUGUESE, with the classmark prefix 3 eg PORTUGUESE 5th floor (3) XRA Mat
- Material on Brazilian Portuguese and Brazilian literature is located on the 7th floor
- Most periodicals are located on the periodicals open shelves (PS) on the 5th floor
- Recent issues of periodicals are on display bays in the Periodicals Room – 4th floor. For more information on finding journals, see our journals resources page

- Some items are held in the closed access stacks. These will display the location Stack Service. Please request at the Stack Service desk on the 4th floor
- To locate individual titles use the online catalogue
Related collections
- Film and media collection - books on Portuguese film, DVDs in the DVD collection
- History collection – Portuguese history and cultural history, Luso-phone African history
- Latin America and Caribbean Studies collection – Portuguese language material from Brazil
- Linguistics collection
- English collection - comparative literature and literary theory
- Palaeography and book history collections
- Special Collections – including the Goldsmiths’ Library of Economic Literature (early economic history, colonial history, politics) and the Eliot-Phelips Collection
- Dictionaries and reference works in the Information Centre, 4th floor
Classmarks for Portuguese
All classmarks in this collection have a numerical prefix of 3 eg PORTUGUESE 5th floor (3) XRA Mat
| Portuguese | XR |
| Portuguese language | XR-XRJ |
| Portuguese literature | XRL-X |
| Dictionaries | XR1 |
| General history and criticism | XRL |
| Grammar | XRB |
| Poetry – general history and criticism | XRO |
| Language learning/textbooks | XRC |
| Drama - general history and criticism | XRP |
| Syntax | XRE |
| Medieval period | XRS |
| 16th and 17th centuries | XR |
| 18th and 19th centuries | XRU |
| 20th century | XRV |
| Portuguese African literature | XRX |
French-language material from Latin America and the Caribbean is shelved with the Latin American and Caribbean Studies collection
| Brazilian Portuguese | (34) XRJ |
| Brazilian literature | (34) XRY |
For a more detailed explanation of classmarks see the Library's leaflet 'A guide to the classification scheme'.
Other libraries
For more information about Portuguese holdings in other academic libraries in the London area, please consult the M25 Consortium of Higher Education Libraries website: www.m25lib.ac.uk. For elsewhere in the UK, consult the Consortium of University and Research Libraries catalogue: www.copac.ac.uk
Contact details
Christine Anderson, Academic Liaison Librarian - Arts
christine.anderson@london.ac.uk
020 7862 8456
moreor visit the Information Desk (4th floor)
shl.enquiries@london.ac.uk
020 7862 8461 or 8462


