Guildhall Library-Aug. 3

With one last gasp, we arrived early morn for our last visit as a class at London's Guildhall Library in the shadow of St. Paul's Cathedral. This reference-only library dates back to the 1420s but the present day institution was created in 1824. The library's Printed Books, Prints and Maps, and Manuscripts sections offer a wide and in-depth view of London and British history.

Printed Books includes London 1841-1901 census returns, London stock exchange company annual reports 1880-1965, and Lloyd's of London's maritime collection 1740 to present (over 300,000 voyage cards are available providing a valuable glimpse of British maritime commerce).

Prints and Maps offers over 25,000 online searchable images of historical London and various themes e.g. religion, politics, satire. London maps from the 16th century to the present are also available.

Manuscripts archives the records of various London-based organizations such as city wards, parishes, and business and commercial ventures e.g. London Stock Exchange, Lloyd's of London.

Our tour guide explained that Printed Books is the most frequented library section. In addition to regular users, Printed Books receives 10-15 emailed research queries/day. Library staff is able to offer patrons 20 minutes of free research assistance; after that, patrons are charged $100/hour.

Guildhall library uses the fairly ubiquitous Talis software for their OPACs. It takes 10-15 minutes for a requested book to be retrieved from the library's closed stacks. Internet access is free.

There are 43 staff members and four volunteers.

Attached to the library is the Clock Museum. Founded in 1814, the collection of clocks and watches is the oldest such museum in the world.