The Humanities Reading Rooms have a wealth of information and resources to help you in your research.
The two rooms provide access to the British Library's collection of post-1850 printed books and journals.
Floor 1 covers all Humanities subjects, including History of Science and Technology. Floor 2 covers librarianship and information science and recorded sound.
In the Humanities Reading Rooms you can:
- Find some information on the shelves
- Access online databases and electronic journals
- Order collection items to the Reading Room via our catalogues.
If you need help, just ask our Information Specialists at the Reference Enquiry desk.
We also offer a series of workshops to help you with your research and to help you to make the best use of the Library's collections.
Collection items available on the open access shelves
Floor 1
Humanities - floor 1 holds a collection of reference works that will help you find and request material using the Library's catalogues. The collection is arranged according to Dewey Decimal Classification. In addition to our printed collection, we offer access via our computer terminals to a range of online subscription databases and full-text electronic journals.
Floor 2
Humanities - floor 2 focuses on reference works and some journals for librarianship and information science, theses and journals.
The Sound Archive Information Service is based in Humanities - floor 2. The printed reference material provided includes books and periodicals, discographies and commercial record catalogues. You can access SoundServer on eight computer terminals in this room.
