Senate House Library
Senate House Library (formerly known as the University of London Library) occupies the fourth to the eighteenth floors of the building with the public areas of the library on the fourth to seventh floors, which is open to staff and students of all colleges within the university (although levels of access differ between institutions) and contains material relevant chiefly to arts, humanities, and social science subjects.
The library is administered by the central university as part the Senate House Libraries and in 2005 had over 32,000 registered users. The library holds around three million volumes, including 120,000 volumes printed before 1851. The Library started with the foundation of the University of London in 1836, but began to develop from 1871 when a book fund was started.
Along with a subscription to over 5,200 Journals, other resources include the Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature, and the Palaeography room's collection of western European manuscripts. The library also holds over 170,000 theses by graduate students. From 2006 onwards, the library has been undergoing a comprehensive refurbishment process.
The Library is also home to the University of London archives, which include the central archive of the University itself and many other collections, including the papers of philanthropist Charles Booth, philosopher Herbert Spencer, actress and mystic Florence Farr, author and artist Thomas Sturge Moore, writer Opal Whiteley, and publishing company Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd.
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