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The London Library is the world's largest independent lending library. It is located in the City of Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom. ^[1]

It was founded in 1841 by a group of men who included Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Library. The library has been based at 14 St. James's Square since 1845, having originally occupied the first floor of the Travellers Club at 49 Pall Mall.^[2]

Membership is open to all, on payment of an annual subscription. The library now has some 7,000 members, mostly private individuals.^[3] and retains a club-like atmosphere.

Trustees & Governance

The London Library is a self-supporting, independent institution. It is a registered charity whose sole aim is the advancement of education, learning, and knowledge. Incorporated by Royal Charter, it has its own bylaws and the power to make or amend its rules. It has a royal patron, an elected president and vice presidents, and is administered by an elected board of a maximum of 15 trustees, including the Chairman and the Hon. Treasurer. The Earl of Clarendon was the library's first president, Thackeray was its first auditor and Gladstone and Sir Edward Bunbury were on the first committee. The Belgian freedom fighter and former Louvain librarian Sylvain van de Weyer was a vice-president from 1848-1874. (Van de Weyer's father-in-law Joshua Bates was a founder of the Boston Public Library in 1852).

A vigorous and long-serving presence in later Victorian times was Richard Monckton-Milnes, later Lord Houghton, a friend of Florence Nightingale. Dickens was among the founder members. In more recent times, Lord Clark and T. S. Eliot have been among the library's presidents, and Sir Harold Nicolson, Sir Rupert Hart-Davis and the Hon Michael Astor have been Chairmen.

In 1981 the patron was HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Lord Annan was president. The vice-presidents have included Lord Lyttelton, Sir Isaiah Berlin, Sir Rupert Hart-Davis, Lord Kenyon, Lord Rayne, Hon. Sir Steven Runciman, Dame Veronica Wedgwood, and Dame Rebecca West. The chairman was Philip Ziegler, and the committee included: Correlli Barnett, Bamber Gascoigne, Lewis Golden, John Gross, Duff Hart-Davis, Sir Charles Johnson, Sir Oliver Millar, Anthony Quinton, Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, and Claire Tomalin.

Collections

The library's collections, which range from the 16th century to the present day, are strong within the fields of literature, fiction, history, fine and applied art, architecture, history, biography, philosophy, religion, topography, and travel. The social sciences are more lightly covered. Pure and natural sciences, technology, medicine and law are not within the library's purview, although it has some books in all of those fields; books on their histories are normally acquired. Periodicals and annuals on a wide range of subjects are also held in the collections.

In 1944, some stock was lost to bomb damage and in 1970 its few incunabula were sold. This apart, the library has (except for some duplicates) retained all items acquired since its foundation. The library now holds more than one million items, and each year acquires some 8,000 new titles and 800 periodicals. 95 per cent of the collection is housed on open shelves and 97 per cent is available for loan, either on-site or through the post. The Library claims to be the largest lending library in Europe.

The library also subscribes to ejournals and other online databases^[4]. All post-1950 acquisitions are searchable on the online catalogue, and pre-1950 volumes continue to be added daily as part of the Retrospective Cataloguing Project^[5].

Subscription

In 1903 the annual membership fee was £3. Around the time of the Great War it was £3 3s, with an entrance fee of £1 1s. During the 1930s it was £4 4s with an entrance fee of £3 3s. By 1946 the annual rate was still £4 4s, but the joining fee had fallen to £2 2s. In November 1981 it was £60 per annum (that would be the equivalent of c£150 in 2008, (using the consumer price index (CPI), or £165.75 using the retail price index (RPI)). From January 2008 it was increased from £210 to £375 per annum, with the same concessionary rates, and no initial fee.

As of January 2009 the annual fee is £395. Concessionary rates are available, including young person's membership and spouse/partner membership.^[6]

References

^ "Libraries." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
^ Wells, J. (1991) Rude Words: a discursive history of the London Library. Macmillan; p. 57
^ London Library: Annual Report 2008-2009, page 24.
^ London Library: Collections
^ London Library: Catalogues
^ London Library: Join Retrieved on 19th June 2009.

_{London Library's copy of a book by Patrick Leigh Fermor on location, Morea, August 2007}

External links

The London Library - Further information on the library, including its online catalogue.

51°30′25″N 0°08′13″W / 51.507°N 0.137°W / 51.507; -0.137

[Map-1] "Libraries." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.

[2] Wells, J. (1991) Rude Words: a discursive history of the London Library. Macmillan; p. 57

[3] London Library: Annual Report 2008-2009, page 24.

[4] London Library: Collections

[5] London Library: Catalogues

[6] London Library: Join Retrieved on 19th June 2009.

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