Students and Early Career Researchers

Students

Free Space to Study

Open from 10am Monday to Thursday The London Archives is the perfect spot for studying. Our light and welcoming Information Area provides space for independent study - bring along your laptop or use one of our public computers. You will also have access to The Mediatheque where you can browse our multimedia collection including, oral histories, films, photographs and much more.

For those who don’t want to leave the building there is a visitors lounge with a coffee machine as well as our exhibition space to visit. For those who want to venture out, Exmouth market is two minutes away with all its coffee shops and eateries for a well-deserved break.

Access to resources

For those conducting research, the Information Area houses the core of our 100,000-volume library on the history of London, alongside printed maps and microfilm readers. You can also access all our online resources including the London Picture Archive, which provides free access to over 250,000 prints, maps and photos of London, as well as our You Tube Channel.

In our mediatheque area, we offer free access to the following sites:

• Early Modern England: Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700 – which contains records from the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, City of London Sessions, and Court of Judicature from the 17th century
• Women’s Studies Archive – which includes primary sources from the 19th and 20th centuries which shed light on women’s history and the issues that affected them.

Archival research

For those wanting to take their study a little deeper you can register for your History Card with our Archives Officers (or do this online before you come). Once you have this you can order documents from our network of strong rooms using our catalogue and you can find out more about this service here. We know navigating the catalogue can sometimes be a little tricky, so our team are on hand to help you with your research.

Other ways to Learn?

We also offer a core programme of talks and tours which are designed to highlight parts of our collection and deepen understanding – you can check what’s on here or sign up to our mailing list to be kept up to date. Have questions? tla.learning@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Getting started

If you haven't visited us before, or are unsure where to start, we run free monthly sessions on 'Getting Started in the Archives' which provide helpful advice and tips on accessing our collections and using our resources. Our Eventbrite page has more information about these sessions, and all our other talks and workshops.