Book collections at LSE Library
Access to ebooks
1. Use Library Search to search for the title or author of your book/chapter.
2. Refine your results by selecting “Books”, “Book Chapter” and “Full Text Online” as filtering criteria.
3. Once you have the book or chapter you want to read, click on the link “Online access”. Take note of the access model as some items can have an expiry date, which limits the time you have to read it or how much you can download/print.
4. When prompted, login in to your Library account using your LSE username and password.
Course Collection (1st floor)
In the Course Collection you will find copies of the essential books on your reading lists. You can borrow these books for 7 days.
Main Collection
In the Main Collection you will find our research collections and background readings from your reading lists. You can borrow these books for 90 days (7 days if requested by someone else).
How to borrow books
Finding the location of a book
1. Use Library Search to search for the title or author of your book.
2. Note the collection and classmark (eg: Course Collection Books HV7921 C65).
3. Use the maps in the Library and the book's classmark to find the item.
Finding your way around the Library
Browse the Library floor plans [PDF] to check where each collection is kept and the location of each classmark. Maps are available throughout the building on each floor.
Finding books beyond LSE Library
You can search library catalogues from all over the world to identify material you might need for your research.
- Library Hub Discover is a database of UK and Irish academic, national and specialist library catalogues.
If you can't get to the holding Library, then you can request items via our Get it for Me service.
As an LSE student you will be able to use most other libraries of the University of London. Find out more about using other libraries.
Specialist dictionaries and encyclopedia
Useful for quickly checking definitions, summaries of theories and thinkers.
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Authoritative guide to the history of the English language.
- Oxford Reference Online. English and foreign language dictionaries, specialist works on social policy, social care and philosophy.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Biographical information on over 50,000 men and women who have shaped the history of the UK.
- Who's Who. Biographies of over 35,000 people who are influential in the UK from 1897 to the present day. These include politicians, judges and celebrities.
There are many other books in the Library which will be useful for your research. To locate these enter keywords in Library Search.
Get further help
If you need any further help, please contact us. Staff are available during office hours to help you find material or answer any other queries you have.