Practical and inspiring open days for first year PhD students new to the Library

At this introductory event you will learn about these collections and will discover how to unlock their potential for your research. Whatever your research interests and area of study –anthropology, history, philosophy, literature, drama, art & design, cultural studies and modern languages, media studies, contemporary history, geography, education, socio-legal studies, sociology, economics, health studies, business and management … - you will find resources here that are unavailable elsewhere.  The day is an opportunity to meet with our expert staff and other researchers of all disciplines from across the Social Sciences and the Humanities.

The British Library holds the world's pre-eminent collection of manuscript, archival, digital and print sources for the study of 20th & 21st century Britain and Ireland, in both domestic and international contexts. It is also home to extensive foreign language collections and other materials relating to Europe and the rest of the world. Our holdings include printed editions, newspapers, zines and the output of small presses, manuscript works, literary sources and personal papers and archives, photographs, maps and reports, contemporary archives, books, journals, government and legal documents, reports, oral history interviews, and broadcast news. 

Doctoral Open Days are aimed at first year PhD students who are new to the Library and are designed to explain the practicalities of using the Library and its services plus help you navigate our physical and online collections, as a starting point for your own research.

Each day focuses on a different thematic area of the Library’s collections – just select the one that will be most useful for your research.

View a draft programme for the day [PDF]

Booking is essential

To prepare for the Open Days:

Follow the link in your confirmation email to complete our pre-event survey.

Pre-register for a free Reader Pass

Check the email address you used for booking to receive updated information and timings in the run up to the event.

Previous Doctoral Open Day attendee

“The presenters and curators were very welcoming and conveyed an innovative, inclusive ethos, demonstrating many ways of “reliving” (as in 'live') the collections to connect imaginatively with historical and contemporary archive material”

“The day was excellent and I am extremely glad that I took the opportunity to attend”

Details