The London Library - July 13

On July 13th we visited the London Library, a private membership library on St. James Square near Piccadilly Circus. What appears to be an unassuming building from the outside, opens up to an expansive repository that houses approximately 1 million volumes on 15 miles of open shelving. The Library is truly noteworthy because 97% of the collection is available for loan, regardless of an item's age. To say that the members are respected (and responsible) is an understatement. Previous members were Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, and Virginia Woolf among many others.

The collection spans the 16th century to the present and largely focuses on the arts and humanities. Some subjects include literature, history, fiction, topography, biography, art, and travel.

The building is quite interesting as it is a mix of the old and new. Below is a picture (please excuse the blurriness) of the renovated space for the art collection. The duplex room is a pleasing mix of wood stacks and frosted glass around the gallery level.

Another section of the Library maintains the original Victorian steel floor that is slatted, as seen in the next 2 photos.

The Caird Library at the Greenwich Maritime Museum - July 12

On Monday, July 12th we visited the Caird Library at the Greenwich Maritime Museum. We were greeted by Hannah Dunmow, Manager of Archives and Manuscripts.

The current library consists of an e-library in the lobby and the Caird Library. In preparation for their move to a new state-of-the-art facility for the Library is currently operating with restricted hours. Instead of their usual 6 days a week, they are only open 3 days a week.

The Library has been open since its founding in 1937 by Sir James Caird. The initial collection was comprised of manuscripts, archives, charts, journals, and ephemera. The subjects ranged from emigration, navigation, piracy, astronomy, voyages and exploration, naval architecture, Merchant and Royal Navies, and geological sources.

The patron demographics vary from academic scholars to yacht builders to people interested in genealogy. Prior to the relocation project, the Library received 3,000 to 4,000 visitors each year. However, the shortened hours have curtailed this number while written inquiries have increased. Unfortunately, the Library has had to redirect many of these inquiries to the National Archives.

The staff here were so gracious and after providing some background information, Hannah and her colleague Martin showed us some of the treasures from the collection. Among these items were a book from the H.M.S. Bounty (famous for the mutiny), a copy of the Aurora Australis, an atlas from 1686, and two letters between Horatio Nelson and his wife.

After the Library tour, Kelly and I browsed around the Museum until we were unceremoniously booted out by a fire alarm. We toured the Queen's House next and then made our way up the ridiculously steep hill to see the Prime Meridian and one of the best views of London. Below is proof that I made it! (Cue the theme song from Rocky...)

Merci Paris and the American Library in Paris - July 9-11

I opted to go on the trip to Paris from July 9-11. The city was everything I thought it would be and more. The residents were unbelievably hospitable, the food was phenomenal, and the Eiffel Tower is completely awe-inspiring. Seriously, I have about 20 pictures and videos of just the Tower!

We had the option to register for 2 tours while we were in Paris and being the true library nerd that I am, I signed up for the library tour with Prof. Welsh on the first day. On the agenda were the Bibliothèque Nationale de France: Richelieu, the American Library in Paris, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France: François-Mitterrand.

The Richelieu Library is the site of the old national library and is in the center of the city, near the Louvre Museum. Unfortunately, we were unable to tour the full library. However, there were a number of public rooms open to us, including the lobby with a grand staircase.



After a brief lunch, we headed across town to the American Library in Paris. Kim Lê Minh, the Reference Librarian, was kind enough to give us some information and history about the Library. It is a private service library and was founded in 1920 when the ALA collected the books that had been sent overseas for American soldiers fighting in WWI.

Today the Library serves the expat and English-speaking population in France. A number of French citizens have also joined the library to broaden their knowledge of English with the approximately 13,000 materials in the collection. The library currently has 2,200 members.

It is a very welcoming space and has the feel of a local public library. This is important because there is currently no community center in Paris, so the Library tries to fill this role.

We next headed back across Paris to see an exhibit of globes at the Francois-Mitterrand Library, however, we did not arrive in time. This new Library provided an opportunity to compare the old to the new. While the Richelieu Library is in the historic part of the city, the Francois-Mitterrand Library is in a newer section of the city. The Library is part of a massive complex of 4 buildings each designed to resemble the spine of a book.

Sir John Soane Museum - July 7

After our visit to the British Museum, several of us decided to explore the Sir John Soane Museum. Sir John Soane was a leading architect in the late-18th to early-19th centuries. The Museum is the site of Soane's home and, by an act of Parliament, has been kept as it appeared during his lifetime. Unfortunately, I could not find many pictures that do the space justice. But as the picture below hints, Soane clearly believed "more is more." The Museum is filled from floor to ceiling with thousands of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts, as well as hundreds of paintings.

The house is actually comprised of 3 adjacent townhouses. Soane initially lived in #12 Lincoln's Inn Fields, however, he slowly acquired the neighboring buildings in order to expand his collection.

His goal for this space was to open it up to the public to help educate and inspire any one interested in art and architecture. The items in the collection range from fragments of cornices to a full-sized sculpture of Apollo and a 3,300 year old Egyptian sarcophagus.

Interior photograph courtesy of http://www.britcastles.com/curio/curio.htm

The British Library - July 8

On July 8th, we visited the British Library as a class. Being one of the main copyright deposit libraries in the UK and Ireland, the facility is truly massive. The current collection is comprised of approximately 175 million items and grows at a rate of 8,000 new items each day! The collection is housed 75 feet underground in a climate controlled structure along 800-900 miles of linear shelving. This state-of-the-art building was completed in 1997 and it's main objective is the preservation of the book. The stacks are kept at 17 degrees Celsius and 50% humidity.


Our guide today was the delightful manager of the front house team, Kevin Mehmet. Mr. Mehmet let us in on a few interesting tidbits of Library trivia, such as the reason the building resembles a ship. (Apparently, the chief architect, Sir Colin St. John Wilson, never made it to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. Since he didn't have his own ship in the Navy, he built one.) Below is a model of the building that shows the underground facilities.

Being a reference library, and not a lending library, the stacks are closed to patrons. Patrons must submit a request and the Automated Book Retrieval System (ABRS) generates 2 barcoded slips. An employee retrieves the book from the stacks (that are arranged by size), inserts one of the slips in the cover of the book, scans the slip, places the book in a barcoded bin, scans that, and the complex maze of conveyors guides the book to the correct dispatch room. There are over 1.25 miles of conveyor tracks with 22,00 different possible routes.

Also housed in the Library is an extensive exhibit space for a permanent exhibit of some of the Library's notable holdings, such as the original "Alice in Wonderland" and the "Codex Sinaiticus." There is also space for temporary exhibits, such as "Magnificent Maps" which was such a treat to explore.

The Central Archive of the British Museum - July 7

Ah, the British Museum, aka my Happy Place! I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but this was my first visit to this wonderful institution. What kind of art history/history lover am I?!

The Museum covers 2 million years of human history and culture and has been in operation since 1753. This is the same year that the archive's records begin. Stephanie Clarke is the head (and only) archivist for the museum and was gracious enough to take us on our tour in several groups. Bryony Levenhall, an archives record assistant was also on hand to show us some of her favorite items.


After meeting in the Great Court, Stephanie led us to the basement and through a series of hallways until we reached the door seen above that actually made us let out a collective "ooh." The archive is comprised of documents and materials related to the history and administration of the Museum and Library. It should be noted that the majority of the library collection is no longer in the British Museum, is was transferred to the British Library when that new building was completed.)


As noted above, the records within the Archive begin with the foundation of the Museum in 1753. The bulk of the holdings is Trustees Minutes; records of acquisitions; and administration, policy and financial records. The materials are stored in bound volumes on stacks. The Museum had a bindery for this purpose. There are also a number of "Letter Books" that contain letters between archeologists in the field and the Museum's directors, the common theme among these letters is funding, or lack thereof.

A significant portion of the Archive deals with the Library that was housed in the Museum. In order to access the Library, potential patrons had to submit an application packet that included their intentions as well as a letter of reference. These packets and the corresponding response are all held in the Archive and date back to 1795. Upon the patron's first visit, they would sign a ledger book and these books are also part of the Archive, dating back to 1842. As could be expected, some of these patrons are very well-known historical figures. Among the signatures Bryony showed us were Karl Marx's and T.S. Elliott's.

One of my favorite items in the Archive was a item of somewhat dubious provenance. As with many sites in London, the British Museum was not immune from the Blitz and a section of the building was destroyed by the bombing. While sifting through the wreckage someone found the shell from one of these bombs and its has been housed in an acid free archival box since then.

The Barbican Library - July 6

The Barbican Library is a public library in the Barbican Centre, a multi-arts complex in the city of London. Due to the size of our group, we were split into 2 groups. I had the pleasure to be with John Lake, a Librarian in the adult department.

The Barbican Centre is a group of modern structures and was a gift from the city to the residents of London. The neighborhood was the site of heavy bombing during WWII and all of the historical buildings had been destroyed. The idea for an international arts center was conceived in the 1950's, planned in the 1960's, built in the 1970's, and finally opened in 1982. This square-mile is run by the City of London and includes theatres, art galleries, meeting facilities, as well as residential buildings. Approximately 9,000 people live in the Barbican and 75% are members to the library. Since any one can become a member, the library serves a large population of commuters who are unable to visit their local libraries after work.

Because membership to the library is so vast, a number of self-service tools have been implemented. The above picture shows the self-service desk that is just outside the library's doors. This station is available until 11pm and allows patrons to drop off books, check their account online, and access the catalog.

One of the most popular sections is the adult department. The collection is held on short "propeller" cases that allow users to clearly see the whole department.

In keeping with the arts focus of the Centre, the Barbican Library houses one of the most extensive music collections in London. Richard Jones, the Assistant Music Librarian guided this portion of the tour.

Students and researchers are a large percentage of the Music Library's patronage. The collection is comprised of sheet music (covering approximately 62,000 titles); 16,000 CDs; DVDs related to music; books and periodicals. The above picture is just a small sampling of the sheet music collection. Another service the Music Library offers is loans of multiple copies of music scores to orchestras.


The final stop on our tour was the Children's Library which serves families from birth to the age of 14. The department also serves the London public school system by sending out non-fiction materials that complement the curricula. 30-minute class visits are another service the Library offers to the surrounding school system. Monthly events on Saturdays, such as ballet, crafts, and summer reading round out the offerings.