University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archive

http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/

Date of trip: November 2013

Source: Takahiro Yamamoto (t.yamamoto1@lse.ac.uk) 

Location

SOAS, University of London

Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

Getting started

If you are student or staff at University of London you can get a reader’s card for the library, and that allows you to use the archive. If not you can show two forms of ID (or one ID and a letter of introduction) at the library reception and apply for an archive reader’s card.

Getting there

The closest station is Russell Square. You can also walk from Euston, Warren Street, Tottenham Court Road, or Holborn. Enter the main building, pass the turnstile, and the library entrance is the at the back of the building on the ground floor. If you are visiting as a non-UOL member you will need to sign in on their visitors’ list and then the security staff will open the gate for you.

Opening hours

Mon to Fri 9am-5pm

Consultation

You can pre-order up to three items by emailing them at docenquiry@soas.ac.uk. You can consult only one item at a time. For the documents ordered on the day they will fetch them four times a day (10am, 11:30am, 2pm, 4pm). There is a limit of three orders from the same collection at any time.

For details see

http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/services/requesting-material/

Policy on technology

Laptops allowed. If you want to take a photo you have to fill in an application and sign the copyright declaration form. This is not available online but the staff will give you the sheet. As for wifi, Eduroam is available. However being located in the basement the signal tends to be weak.

Etc

Store street, on the west side of the SOAS campus (the opposite side from Russell Square), offers several lunch options. Otherwise you can try SOAS cafeteria in the basement, where food is cheap and you get what you pay for.