Our Services & Facilities
Special Collections Reading Room
Archives, manuscripts, rare books and the SOAS thesis collection are consulted in the Special Collections Reading Room, situated on Floor F of SOAS Library. Only lead pencils may be used when making notes. The use of lap-top computers is permitted, provided other readers are not inconvenienced.
Opening hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday,Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Please note that the Special Collections Reading Room is closed every Wednesday.
The Reading Room is normally open on one Saturday morning a month, between 9.30am and 1pm. Material to be consulted must be ordered in advance. Dates for Saturday openings will be advertised on our news pages.
An extensive range of descriptive lists and catalogues are kept in the Special Collections Reading Room. Staff are available to provide assistance in searching for material.
Collection Times
Collections of closed access materials are made four times per day Monday to Friday during term time:
- 10:00 am
- 11.30 am
- 2:00 pm
- 4.00 pm
and three times per day Monday-Friday during the summer vacation:
- 10:00 am
- 11.30 am
- 2.30 pm
There are no collections on Saturdays. Collection time is normally 30 minutes.
Requisition slips, which can be obtained in the Special Collections Reading Room and at the Issue Desk, should be completed and handed to the staff on duty. Orders for material (no more than three items) can be made in advance provided that full references are given, and the request is made at least 1 full working day in advance. Please Contact us if you would like to order material in advance of your visit.
Reprographics Services
There is no self-service photocopying of archives, manuscripts and rare books. Scanners, camcorders, digital camcorders and mobile phone cameras are not permitted in the Special Collections Reading Room. Photography, using a digital or SLR-lens camera, is permitted under certain conditions and at the discretion of the Reading Room staff.
The Archives Division is not currently offering a photocopying service. This arrangement is under review.
Photography
A photographic service is available, and is undertaken by an outside company on behalf of the customer. Prices are available from the Photographer, and all payments for the service are made directly to the Photographer and not to SOAS.
An order form and copyright form must be completed for all orders. Order forms are available in the Special Collections Reading Room. Please Contact us if you wish to order photography.
Please note that in accordance with copyright regulations, copies can only be supplied for the purposes of non-commercial research and private study. Please contact us if copies are required for publication or for purposes other than non-commercial research. Separate reproduction fees may be charged in these cases.
SOAS Library cannot accept responsibility for the work carried out or any transactions made between the customer and the supplier.
Microfilm
The Archives Division does not offer a microfilming service.
Microform copies of a number of our archives on are available to purchase from outside suppliers. For further details, see our Commercial microform page.
