We offer a range of workshops and training events to enable you to carry out effective research and to make best use of the British Library collections:
- Basic research skills
- Business & IP Centre workshops
- Humanities Workshops
- Information Skills-Navigating research in the British Library
- Science Research Skills Sessions
- Social Sciences workshops
- Theatre Research Resources in the British Library
The workshops are run by British Library information specialists.
NB: You can book a place by email.
Workshop programme
Basic research skills
This course covers the basic skills needed for someone setting out on a research project. It is not discipline-specific and so is suitable for scientists or humanities researchers.
Time: 15:00 to 16:00
Dates: 15 February, 28 March and 23 May.
You can book a place by email.
Business & IP Centre workshops
The Centre runs a full programme of workshops covering business information and intellectual property. Details of the programme and booking information.
Humanities Workshops
These workshops are part of the weekly sessions led by the Humanities Reference Team to help readers find their way around the British Library’s extensive collections.
All about periodicals
Finding the periodical that you need - in the Library Catalogue; on the open shelf.
- Requesting the article or articles that you need
- Finding the Library’s humanities e-journals – titles and articles
- Other helpful tools – for finding either periodical titles or periodical articles e.g. COPAC and other union lists; periodical indexes – online and CD-ROM; Internet.
- Finding the newspaper that you need – in the Library Catalogue; in the Newspapers web catalogue
- Online and CD-ROM newspaper databases – available in the Humanities Reading Room
Time: 15:00 to 16:00
Dates: 22 February, 14 March, 11 April and 27 June.You can book a place by email.
Electronic resources
Finding the electronic resource that you need for your project using online research tools:
- Finding and using databases
- Using the Help for Researchers pages
- Using the topics list
- Virtual Reference Library
Time: 15:00 to 16:00.
Dates: 8 February, 21 March, 25 April and 6 June.You can book a place by email.
Electronic resources hands-on
A chance to practice what you learned at 'Electronic Resources', with staff on hand to help and guide you.Time: 15:00 to 16:00.
Dates: 16 May and 13 June.You can book a place by email.
Information Skills - Navigating research in the British Library
This course covers the basic skills needed for someone starting a research project. It will show you how to locate information on your subject within the British Library Collections as well as giving you guidance with writing up.
- Explains skills needed to research effectively
- Locating subject guides
- Subject searching and browsing using printed sources as well as digital sources
- Using databases
Time: 15:00 to 16:00
Dates: 18 April and 2 May.
You can book a place by email.
Science Research Skills Sessions
Do you need guidance on using the catalogue, accessing e-journals and databases or finding references for your research?
The Science Reference Enquiry team would be happy to help! We run sessions (Mon-Fri) on a variety of subjects and now offer free 30-minute one-to-one training sessions, tailored to readers needs, covering basic skills in library research and focussing on science resources at the British Library.
To find out more or to book a session, please email us at: scitech@bl.uk.
You can book a place by email.
Social Sciences workshops
Clinics on Social Sciences Resources
The Social Sciences Reference Team offers free 30-minute one-to-one training sessions tailored to your needs covering basics skills on library research focusing on the social sciences resources available in the library. To book a session, please contact Social Sciences.
Theatre Research Resources in the British Library
This workshop will be led by Pat Koumi who will take you through many of the resources you have access to in the reading rooms that are available electronically or from our printed collections. These include theatre journals, playbills and the British Library Theatre Archive Project. You will also learn about subject guides to help you to locate more resources on your topic.
Time: 15:00 to 16:00.
Date: 23 February.
Venue: Maps Seminar Room.
You can book a place by email.
How to book a place on our workshops
- Booking details for Business & IP Centre workshops are available on our website.
- To attend a Science session please speak to staff at the Reference Enquiry Desk in the Science Reading Room or email us at: scitech@bl.uk.
NB: These sessions are open to British Library Reader Pass holders only. If you would like to attend but do not have a Reader Pass, please register with us. - For all other workshops:
Email: hrs-training@bl.uk
Please note that for all courses booked through hrs-training@bl.uk, bookings will only be accepted up to two days before the course.
There is a heavy demand for these courses so if you are booked on one and later find that you are unable to come, please let us know so that we can offer the place to someone else. Thank you.
