British and Irish Library Directories and Major Libraries

Home of the British Library, Oxford, Cambridge, Trinity — some of the great institutions of the English-speaking world.

This page:
Web Directories | Union Catalogs | United Kingdom | Ireland

Web Directories of British and Irish Libraries

• Libweb: Libraries on the Web: Great Britain and Ireland (no longer updated as of late 2011)

Union Catalogs of British and Irish Libraries

A union catalog allows you to search multiple libraries' holdings at the same time.

• COPAC - One-stop searching of major research libraries' catalogues in the U.K. and Ireland
• Serials Union Catalogue (SUNCAT) - Union catalog of serials in major U.K. libraries
• English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) - Catalog of books published in Britain and its dependencies between 1473 and 1800. Includes holdings information for libraries in the British Isles, North America, and elsewhere. This is a fabulous resource for anyone doing historical or literary research! (More about the ESTC)

Web Directories:

• Other Union Catalogues (SUNCAT)

United Kingdom Libraries

National Libraries:

• National Library of Scotland
• National Library of Wales / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru
• Isle of Man National Library and Archives - Manx National Heritage Library
• National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Major University Libraries:

• University of Birmingham - Includes Shakespeare Institute Library, Stratford
• Cambridge University Library
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Leeds
• University of London
• John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester - Fine collection of rare books and manuscripts
• Oxford University Libraries (Bodleian)

Web Directories

• HERO: Libraries - U.K. higher education libraries by region or alphabetically; OPACs in Britain and Ireland (Higher Education and Research Opportunities in the United Kingdom, formerly NISS)
• UK Higher Education & Research Libraries (Ian Tilsed, University of Exeter)
• M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries - London area

Major Public Libraries:

• Birmingham Libraries
• Glasgow Libraries - Including Mitchell Library
• Liverpool Libraries and Information Service

Web Directory

• UK Public Libraries

Special Libraries:

Africa and Asia

• School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Botany

• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Library and Archives

Classics, Theology, etc.

• St. Deiniol's Library - Based on the collections and interests of the 19th century prime minister William Gladstone, Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales

Labor

• Working Class Movement Library, Salford, England

Londoniana

• Guildhall Library, London

Medicine

• Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine, London

Northern England

• Chetham's Library, Manchester - Public library dating to 1653, strong in local history and 16th and 17th century materials

Poetry

• Poetry Library, London

Religion

• The Dr. Williams's Centre for Dissenting Studies - The library of works on dissenting Protestant churches dates from the early 18th century

Social Sciences

• British Library of Political & Economic Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

Women

• The Women's Library, London

Membership Libraries:

• London Library - "A private subscription library specialising in the humanities" counting Carlyle, Thackeray, Gladstone, and Dickens among its founders

Web Directory

• Association of Independent Libraries - Includes a list of the independently funded subscription libraries who are its members

Scotland:

Scottish Union Catalogs

• Co-operative Information Retrieval Network for Scotland (CAIRNS) - Academic libraries
• SALSER - Serials catalog for Scottish academic and research libraries

London Region:

Directory

• London Libraries - Consortium of academic, public, and specialist libraries, including the British Library

London Union Catalogs

• InforM25 - Search multiple catalogs of London-area academic libraries simultaneously
• What's in London Libraries - Catalog of London public libraries

Ireland Libraries

Irish Union Catalog:

• IRIS: The Consortium of Irish University and Research Libraries

National Library:

• National Library of Ireland / Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hEireann

Major University Library:

• Trinity College Dublin