In pictures: SOAS Library Main Reading Room, 1973 to today

As SOAS Library's Main Reading Room reopens after refurbishment, SOAS Librarian Dawn Wright looks back at how this much-loved space has evolved since 1973.

The library's location at the heart of the Philips Building is no accident - it symbolically represents the centrality of learning to SOAS. Having closed the door on the Main Reading Room back in November last year, we open it into its new phase, and a little journey through its history might be of interest.

Why is it called the 'Main' Reading Room? 

When the Library opened in the Philips Building in 1973, there were reading rooms for the various regions and subjects covered by SOAS.

These rooms housed the reference collection for these areas - essential reference tools like language dictionaries, regional/subject encyclopedias and handbooks - there was, of course, no Internet, so all the research was book-based (and very occasionally microfilmed material).

The library's location at the heart of the Philips Building...symbolically represents the centrality of learning to SOAS.

Adjacent to these smaller reading rooms was an office housing the Librarian in charge of the collection and their staff. The example below is the Southeast Asia Reading Room:

The Main Reading Room, by comparison, housed all the general reference material – for example, Encyclopedia Britannica, Who’s Who, English language dictionaries, etc. It was also the main area for study within the library, as the terraces had not yet been expanded into. 

The Main Reading Room had a Librarian in charge and a library assistant. Library assistants also worked there in shifts on evenings and Saturdays.

Before Special Collections 

Before the dedicated Special Collections Reading Room existed, the Main Reading Room was also where SOAS's precious archives and manuscripts were consulted. Requested items were delivered to the Control Room behind the desk, and readers examined them at the front desks under the supervision of library staff on duty.

Readers consulted these items in the first desks in front of the staff desk in the Main Reading Room under the supervision of the library staff on duty. The pictures show a couple of these archival boxes in use. Behind the desk, a collection of ‘Reading Room Reserve’ texts was held:

This was before any concept of a designated Teaching Collection, which came along a few years later. Students were able to borrow these high-demand texts during the day for a few hours and could borrow up to two items overnight / weekend. 

The construction of a designated Teaching Collection area on Level E led to this collection moving downstairs in due course and the introduction of a new category of what became ‘one week’ loans. The construction of the Special Collections Reading Room made it a dedicated area for consulting Special Collections material under the supervision of the Special Collections staff.

The arrival of computers

These changes, together with the demand for computing facilities, led to the introduction of computers into the Main Reading Room, with the tap of computer keys replacing the scratch of pen and pencil on paper.

The shelving was removed, and the reference books were transferred to Level E. The room was refreshed with a new carpet and repainted. The only book collection that remained was the Hardyman Madagascar Collection, since at the time, there was no room elsewhere to house this. This unique collection has now been safely transferred to Special Collections. 

The tap of computer keys replacing the scratch of pen and pencil on paper. 

Over the intervening years, desktop computers have become less bulky, and as technology has evolved, laptops and mobile devices are commonplace and often preferred by readers. 

One curiosity you will spot behind the desk is this control panel. In the past, this was used to manually control the opening and closing of the library roof windows and the air vents. 

A new chapter

In March 2026, we reopened the doors to the refurbished Main Reading Room, welcoming it back to the centre of SOAS Library with a new lease of life. We're so proud of how it came out.