Coronavirus and Library services

We are available 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday to support you.

Contact us by: 

• Email
• Library Chat (IM)
• Twitter
• Facebook

General enquiries

Library staff are available Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm at the ground floor service desk to answer basic enquiries.

Meet with a librarian

A librarian can also meet you in person to discuss searching for literature and referencing for assignments, dissertations and exams.

Find your librarian and contact them to arrange. 

If you need help using the Library and its resources, you should contact your department librarian first. They can assist you with:

• finding the resources on your reading list
• finding resources for your assignments
• finding data and other specialist information.
• citing and referencing enquiries

Contact a librarian to discuss.

• You can also contact specialists on publishing, data management and research impact. Explore our research support guides.

LSE staff and students

Our building is open for LSE staff and students for the purpose of research and study. You do not need to book a space to enter.

LSE alumni

LSE alumni are very welcome to use the Library.

Use your LSE Alumni card to gain access. Visit the Alumni Centre on campus if you don't have a current card. 

Members of the public and other insitutions

If you want to access archives or collections unique to LSE, you should apply for access. It can take 10 working days for us to respond to applications. We advise you not to make travel bookings in advance.

Library services and environment

• single use study spaces on all floors
• computer workstations and printers
• physical collections and borrowing available
• food is not allowed
• face coverings are encouraged

LSE staff and students can borrow our open access print collections. 

• Use the self-service machines to borrow books.
• Chat to us if you have any problems with borrowing.
• You can also email us for assistance.

Return books using the self-service machines on the ground floor of the Library.

If you don't want to enter the Library, post them through the external drop box.

Contact us with any issues or concerns.

LSE staff and students

Let us know what you want to use and we'll provide advice.

Get in touch to arrange access. 

Members of the public, other institutions and LSE alumni

If you want to access our archives or special collections, apply for access. It can take 10 working days for us to respond to applications. We advise you not to make travel bookings in advance.

In the meantime, you can still access our digitised collections, or explore our collection highlights to find out more about our archives and special collections.

Our team of curators can help you according to their area of expertise.

You can also send us any general enquiries, and we'll do our best to help. 

Online exhibitions and collections

• Take a look at our Google Arts and Culture online exhibits. Including stories of the women's suffrage movement, and LGBTQ+ activism.
• Explore our digitised archives on the legacy digital library and our new digital library. 
• Browse collections and freely download images from our Unsplash and Flickr pages.
• Explore Charles Booth’s London: Poverty Maps and Police Notebooks.

If you can't access something that you need, let us know.

The Get It For Me service is for when you want articles, chapters or ebooks that are not available in our collection.

Find out how to use the Get It For Me service

We aren't able to order print titles at the moment, but if what you want is available electronically then we should be able to get you access.