Author: Jennifer Higham (IHR Librarian)
From the beginning of August 2011 the IHR Library will be open in its new temporary home on the 3rd floor of the south block of Senate House.
We thought it would be helpful to use this blog to provide a preview of what to expect after the move. Currently the space is occupied by the Senate House Library periodicals collection, which is what can be seen in the photographs. There is also a floorplan available.
On exiting the lift on the 3rd floor, readers will come face to face with the new IHR Reception desk, which will be shared between IHR Reception staff and the library staff of the Institute of Classical Studies, which occupies the remainder of the space on this floor. The IHR Reception will be staffed as currently and will continue to perform its full range of functions.
One major difference will be fact that the Library, as well as both the Library and administrative staff, will all be located on one floor. The IHR will occupy an inverted U-shaped space based around 3 corridors, with the first 2 sides being library shelving, reader places and computing facilities. On entering through the turnstiles, the photocopiers will be located in a room behind the Reception desk. Although the Library will consist of a series of rooms, these won’t necessarily be allocated to particular subject collections. Following on from a large reading room with roller shelving, the next corridor will contain the current issues of periodicals. The offices of those staff currently working on the ground floor of the IHR, including the Administrator Elaine Walters, will also be located here, as will the IHR Director Professor Miles Taylor. The Library Staff Office will be at the end of this corridor and will operate on the same basis as currently.
Because of the need to place books and journals in closed access storage during this time, the Library staff will also be operating a request and fetch service from the office. Further details will be provided in due course.
The Library will continue to be open Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 8.45pm, and Saturdays from 9.30am to 5.15pm.
If you have any queries or feedback, please contact either the Librarian Jennifer Higham jennifer.higham@london.ac.uk /020 7862 8769, or the Library Staff office ihr.library@sas.ac.uk /020 7862 8760.