British and Irish Library Directories and Major Libraries

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Union Catalogs | United Kingdom | Ireland

Union Catalogs of British and Irish Libraries

A union catalog allows you to search multiple libraries' holdings at the same time

• Library Hub Discover - One-stop searching of major research libraries' catalogues in the U.K. and Ireland (formerly COPAC)
• Serials Union Catalogue (SUNCAT) - Union catalog of serials in major U.K. libraries
• English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) - Catalog of books published in Britain and its dependencies from 1473, when printing was introduced in England, to 1800. Includes holdings information for libraries in the British Isles, North America, and elsewhere. This is a fabulous resource for anyone doing historical or literary research! (More about the ESTC)

Web Directory of Union Catalogs:

• Other Union Catalogues - Mostly European (SUNCAT)

United Kingdom Libraries

National Libraries:

• National Archives
• Discovery - "More than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the country. Over 9 million records are available for download."
• National Library of Scotland
• National Library of Wales / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru
• Manx National Heritage: Library and Archives
• National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, London - "A major public reference library of fine and decorative arts of many countries and periods"

Major University Libraries:

• University of Birmingham - Includes Shakespeare Institute Library, Stratford
• Cambridge University Library
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Leeds
• University of London
• John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester - Fine collection of rare books and manuscripts
• Oxford University Libraries
• Bodleian libraries
• Bodleian Old Library
• Digital Bodleian
• Polonsky Foundation Digitization Project - A project of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and Bodleian Library to digitize early manuscripts

Web Directories of U.K. Academic Libraries

• Research Libraries UK members (RLUK)
• UK Higher Education Libraries (LibraryTechnology.org)
• M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries - London area

Major Public Libraries:

• Birmingham Libraries
• Glasgow Libraries - Including Mitchell Library
• Liverpool Libraries and Information Service

Web Directory of U.K. Public Libraries:

• Public Libraries in the United Kingdom (LibraryTechnology.org)

Special Libraries:

Africa and Asia

• School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Botany

• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Library and Archives

Classics, Theology, etc.

• Gladstone's Library at St. Deiniol's - Based on the collections and interests of the 19th century prime minister William Gladstone, Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales

Egypt

• Ricardo A. Caminos Memorial Library, Egypt Exploration Society, London

Genocide

• Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, London

Labor

• Working Class Movement Library, Salford, England

Londoniana

• Guildhall Library, London

Medicine

• Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine, London

Northern England

• Chetham's Library, Manchester - Public library dating to 1653, strong in local history and 16th and 17th century materials

Poetry

• Poetry Library, London

Religion

• The Dr. Williams's Centre for Dissenting Studies - The library of works on dissenting Protestant churches dates from the early 18th century

Social Movements

• Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, London - "Experiences of everyday people, and the extraordinary individuals and organisations who have strived for social, political, and cultural change"

Social Sciences

• British Library of Political & Economic Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

Women

• Glasgow Women's Library
• The Women's Library, London School of Economics

Membership Libraries:

• The Leeds Library
• Linen Hall Library, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• London Library - "A private subscription library specialising in the humanities" counting Carlyle, Thackeray, Gladstone, and Dickens among its founders

Web Directory of U.K. Membership Libraries

• Association of Independent Libraries - Includes a list of the independently funded subscription libraries who are its members

London Region:

Directory

• London Libraries - Consortium of academic, public, and specialist libraries, including the British Library

London Union Catalogs

• InforM25 - Search multiple catalogs of London-area academic libraries simultaneously
• What's in London Libraries - Catalog of London public libraries

Ireland Libraries

National Library:

• National Library of Ireland / Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hEireann

Major University Library:

• Trinity College Dublin

Independent Library:

• Marsh's Library, Dublin - Three centuries old library