Newsletter 1:
Guildhall Library is to be extensively refurbished for the first time since 1974, with significant improvements including more public computer workstations, a new training area, new access facilities for wheelchair users, and planned reinstatement of a dedicated entrance subject to planning permission.
The new look Guildhall Library will house the City Business Library and the existing Guildhall Library Printed Books and Manuscripts Sections. The Printed Books and Manuscripts’ holdings will remain in Guildhall Library. The Guildhall Library Prints and Maps team and collections will move to London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) permanently to unite with the rich graphic collections there.
Guildhall Library Manuscripts, the record office for the “square mile” of the City of London, will modernise its reading room, with improved facilities for readers including access to digitised family history sources. During the building work, due to start in March 2009 and last up to six months, the Guildhall Library Manuscripts reading room will close and access to its holdings will be at the reading rooms of LMA in Clerkenwell (40 Northampton Road, London EC1 OHB). Material already on microfilm in the Guildhall Library Manuscripts reading room will be available on film at LMA. All other records will be produced at LMA, but will need to be ordered 48 hours in advance, as they will continue to be stored in the City. Guildhall Library Manuscripts staff will be on hand at LMA to give help and advice during the temporary closure of the Manuscripts reading room.
The Guildhall Library Manuscripts distance enquiry service will continue in full, before, during and after the temporary closure of the reading room. Regular bulletins about the reading room closure will be posted here and enquiries can be made at any time. Readers intending to visit Guildhall Library in 2009 are encouraged to discuss their research plans at an early date.
The Guildhall Library Prints and Maps collections and team will be moving to LMA permanently in Spring 2009. Readers intending to use the collections at this time are encouraged to contact the Prints and Maps enquiry service to discuss their research plans at an early date as collections will be temporarily unavailable during the move.
Once moved, the Guildhall Library collection of prints, drawings, maps and photographs will continue to be fully accessible during normal opening times at LMA, without prior appointment, via the existing online library catalogue (a text database), via Collage (an image database) and via specialist staff at the enquiry desk. The collections will be available through document booking systems, as of course they are now at both Guildhall and LMA, but facsimiles of all the most frequently consulted maps will remain on open access for the readers to browse. We plan to automate document production later this year, giving readers the opportunity to pre-book originals before they visit.
The LMA reading rooms have recently been refurbished to a high standard and provide a light and open working space where readers will continue to view originals. A comprehensive reproduction service will also be available and it is intended to provide complementary services by digitising the remainder of the Guildhall collection as well as the entire LMA collection, using onsite state of the art scanning equipment.
The move will have the major benefit of uniting the Guildhall collection with the very rich and important collection of graphic materials held at LMA. Use of the Guildhall collections at LMA will be supported by the transfer of relevant reference materials and further work is in hand to ensure that essential ties between the print and maps collections and the printed books and manuscripts at Guildhall are identified and developed. The Prints and Maps team will also continue to provide a rich and varied programme of exhibitions, at Guildhall Library, LMA and Guildhall Art Gallery.
The Prints and Maps collections will benefit from direct access to one of the premier conservation units in the United Kingdom and excellent storage facilities which provide much needed space for growth and development. Original maps/prints/photographs/drawings will be given the best possible care, thus ensuring their longevity. Of course, we will also continue to build the collection through gift, deposit and purchase. The Prints and Maps distance enquiry service will continue in full, before, during and after the move. Regular bulletins about the move will be posted on the City of London website and enquiries can be made at any time to prints&maps@cityoflondon.gov.uk.
Guildhall Library Printed Books. During the refurbishment programme, which will continue until January 2010, some of the collections in the Printed Books Section will be inaccessible at various times. It is essential that you contact the Printed Books Section prior to making a visit in order to check availability. (Telephone 020 7332 1868/1870 or email printedbooks.guildhall@cityoflondon.gov.uk). Staff in the Printed Books Section will be engaged fulltime in projects linked to the refurbishment programme and are unable to offer a distance enquiry service whilst refurbishment is in progress.
SUMMARY
Guildhall Library Manuscripts: distance enquiry service as normal; holdings remain in Guildhall Library; reading room operating from LMA from March 2009 for 4-6 months, with 48 hour notice to order documents.
Guildhall Library Prints and Maps: distance enquiry service as normal; holdings moving from Guildhall Library to LMA in early 2009 to unite with LMA graphic collections permanently (some material unavailable before and during the move); reading room service permanently at LMA from early 2009.
Guildhall Library Printed Books: distance enquiry service temporarily suspended; holdings remain in Guildhall Library with some material unavailable at times; reading room service at Guildhall Library throughout.
Last updated September 2008