British Library of Political and Economic Science
{{Short description|Main library of the London School of Economics and Political Science}}
{{redirects|LSE Library|the Old Building library|LSE Shaw Library}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox library
| name = British Library of Political and Economic Science
| image = LSE_large.jpg
| caption = The roof of the Lionel Robbins Building
| country = United Kingdom
| type = Academic library
| scope =
| established = 1896
| ref_legal_mandate =
| location = Portugal Street, London WC2
| coordinates = {{Coord|51|30|52.5|N|0|06|56|W|display=inline,title}}
| branch_of =
| affiliation = The London School of Economics (LSE)
| items_collected = Books, journals, newspapers, maps, official publications, pamphlets, microforms
| collection_size = 4M books, 33,600 journal titles{{cite book |last = British Library of Political and Economic Science |title = Annual report 2009-10 |year = 2010 |url = http://www2.lse.ac.uk/library/news/about/LibraryAnnualReport0910.pdf |access-date = 6 September 2011 |archive-date = 27 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200727055850/http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/news/about/LibraryAnnualReport0910.pdf |url-status = dead }}
| criteria =
| legal_deposit = No
| req_to_access =
| pop_served =
| director = Niamh Tumelty
| website = [http://www.lse.ac.uk/library http://www.lse.ac.uk/library]
| phone_num =
}}
The British Library of Political and Economic Science, commonly referred to as "LSE Library", is the main library of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). It is one of the largest libraries in the world devoted to the economic and social sciences.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wl-U4-WmFL4C&dq=LSE+largest+libraries&pg=PA10|title=How To Find Information: A Guide For Researchers: A Guide for Researchers|last=Sally|first=Rumsey|date=2008-04-01|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (UK)|isbn=9780335226313|language=en}} The Library responds to around 5,000 visits from students and staff each day.{{cite web | url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/about/LSE-IDEAS-UBI-Masterclass/map | title=LSE Library and campus map }} In addition, it provides a specialist international research collection, serving over 12,000 registered external users each year. It is housed in the Lionel Robbins Building.
Location
The library is located on the London School of Economics (LSE) Campus, near Portugal Street. The current building is the former headquarters and warehouse facilities of WH Smith, opened in 1916 and taken over by LSE in 1976, to be reopened as a library in 1978.
History
The Library was founded in 1896, one year after the LSE. It was founded in order to "provide, for the serious student of administrative and constitutional problems, what has hitherto been lacking in this country, namely a collection of the materials for economic and political research".{{Cite web|url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/68666/|title=LSE Library: a history of the collections|last=Camfield|first=Graham|date=18 February 2017|website=LSE}} A history of its development and collections is available on its institutional repository, [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/68666/ LSE Research Online].
Collections
Since its foundation the library has been the national social sciences library of the United Kingdom, and collects material on a worldwide basis in all major European languages. Over 50 km of shelving, enough to stretch the length of the Channel Tunnel, houses over four and a half million items including 31,000 past and present journal titles. The Library subscribes to approximately 15,000 e-journals as part of its electronic information provision. It has been designated as a United Nations depository library, providing a comprehensive collection of UN publications and documents.{{Cite web|url=https://library.un.org/content/depository-libraries-directory?field_region_value=All&field_country_list_value=All&field_city_value_1=&combine=London+school+of+economics&title=|title=Depository Libraries Directory {{!}} Dag Hammarskjöld Library {{!}} United Nations|website=library.un.org|access-date=2017-04-19}} Many other organisations are also represented, including OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), ILO (International Labour Organization), OAS (Organization of American States) and GATT/WTO (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade / World Trade Organization). It is also a European Documentation Centre and has received publications from the European Community since 1964.{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/services/contact-points_en|title=Contact Points - United Kingdom - European Commission|website=United Kingdom|access-date=2017-04-19}} Its collections have been recognised for their national and international importance and awarded 'Designation' status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
The library's archives hold a number of unique collections. These include Charles Booth's poverty maps, which were awarded UNESCO status in 2016 on the Memory of the World Register.{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org.uk/2016-memory-of-the-world-register/|title=UK National Commission for UNESCO - 2016 Memory of the World Register|website=UK National Commission for UNESCO|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313214943/http://www.unesco.org.uk/2016-memory-of-the-world-register/|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=dead}} It also holds a number of other archive collections of national or international significance,{{Cite web|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collection-highlights|title=Collection highlights|author=London School of Economics and Political Science|website=www.lse.ac.uk|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-04-19}} such as [http://www.lse.ac.uk/Library/Collection-highlights/The-Womens-Library The Women's Library], [http://www.lse.ac.uk/Library/Collection-highlights/LGBT-collections LGBT activism], [http://www.lse.ac.uk/Library/Collection-highlights/British-political-parties British politics and early left wing thought], and [http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collection-highlights/peace-and-internationalism peace campaigning].
The Library has a number of open access platforms to make its collections available freely online. These include a [https://digital.library.lse.ac.uk/ digital library] which holds digitised items from its collections, [https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/ LSE Theses Online], which holds PhDs recently completed or digitised at the LSE, and [https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/ LSE Research Online], which holds research outputs by LSE academic staff. [https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/ LSE Press] was launched in 2018{{Cite web|title=About LSE Press|url=https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/about/|url-status=live|access-date=19 October 2021|publisher=LSE Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521021818/https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/about/ |archive-date=21 May 2018 }} and publishes peer-reviewed open access research in the social sciences through books and journals (LSE Public Policy Review,{{Cite web|title=LSE Public Policy Review|url=https://ppr.lse.ac.uk/|url-status=live|access-date=19 October 2021|publisher=LSE Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630165346/https://ppr.lse.ac.uk/ |archive-date=30 June 2020 }} Journal of Illicit Economies and Development,{{Cite web|title=Journal of Illicit Economies and Development|url=https://jied.lse.ac.uk/|url-status=live|access-date=19 October 2021|publisher=LSE Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529035043/https://jied.lse.ac.uk/ |archive-date=29 May 2019 }} and Journal of Long-Term Care{{Cite web|title=Journal of Long-Term Care|url=https://journal.ilpnetwork.org/|url-status=live|access-date=19 October 2021|publisher=LSE Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301192829/https://journal.ilpnetwork.org/ |archive-date=1 March 2020 }}). Student work is published through the [https://hspress.lse.ac.uk/site/ Houghton Street Press] imprint. The Library holds a free exhibition space which showcases some of its unique collections, with three termly exhibitions each year.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/Library/Exhibitions|title=Exhibitions |author=London School of Economics and Political Science |website=www.lse.ac.uk|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-04-19}}
Redevelopment
File:Lionel Robbins Building - BLPES, 1978 (3832932689).jpg
The library underwent a £35 million building redevelopment in 2000, overseen by Foster and Partners. The building was officially reopened on 27 November 2001 by The Princess Royal and was commended in the 2002 Civic Trust Awards, given to outstanding examples of architecture and environmental design in major city areas of the UK, taking into account the benefit each project brings to its local area as well as the quality of its design. A further redevelopment in summer 2007, saw the expansion of the Course Collection by 60%, a new help desk, more study spaces and an increase in self-service facilities.
The Lionel Robbins Building covers 20,000 square metres, and offers 1,700 study places, including 450 networked PCs and 226 laptop drop-in points. A light-filled atrium, named after Michael Peacock and spiral stepped ramp culminate at the top in a partially glazed dome which has been precisely angled to maximise daylight with minimal solar glare. A reflecting panel on the roof also helps to direct sunlight to the floors below. The dome and other windows respond automatically according to the temperature in the building; ventilating it naturally.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commonscat|Lionel Robbins Building, Portugal Street, London}}
- [http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/ British Library of Political and Economic Science]
- [http://www.lse.ac.uk/Library/Collection-highlights Collection highlights]
- [https://digital.library.lse.ac.uk/ LSE Digital Library]
- [http://booth.lse.ac.uk/ Charles Booth Online Archive]
- [https://librarysearch.lse.ac.uk/primo-explore/search?vid=44LSE_VU1&lang=en_US&sortby=rank LSE Library Catalogue]
- [https://press.lse.ac.uk/ LSE Press]
- [https://hspress.lse.ac.uk/ Houghton Street Press]
{{London School of Economics}}
{{Libraries in London}}
{{Academic libraries in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1916
Category:London School of Economics
Category:Academic libraries in London
Category:Research libraries in the United Kingdom
Category:Libraries in the City of Westminster
Category:1896 establishments in the United Kingdom
Category:Libraries established in 1896