Pianos for check out? Sharing a roof with a concert hall and a theatre? Barbican Library is an…read moreeasily spotted yet heavily missed venue in the heart of the Barbican complex. You wouldn't think this library is for the public... Just walk in at your leisure or just before your indulging in the concerts / plays (Tue/Thurs opens till 7:30pm). Barbican library is low key in appearance yet high energy in content, a heaven for performing arts lovers. The collection is comprised of sheet music covering 62,000 titles, 17,000 CDs (largest collection in London), and many more...for you to plug in and play on the digital pianos available next to the shelves. Situated on the 2nd fl in the Shakespeare Tower, it is one of largest public libraries in London. Other than the music library, it also has separate art and children depts. It also houses the 'London Collection' of historical books and resources, some of which date back 300 years, all being available on loan. The library averages 1200 visitors per day with 44 staff. Thanks for Helen H. initial introduction.

Situated in the sprawling Barbican Centre, the Barbican library is a surprisingly good location for…read morea library. It is a split level place with books, dvds and a study area on the upper floor and a comprehensive music area on the lower area. To take out books etc you need to either work or live in the City of London, but anyone can use the library facilities. My only gripes are that the open plan set up leaves it open to getting quite noisy when there are people waiting for an event in the lower levels of the Centre. The study area suffers from poor lighting levels which means it can't be used for too long a period.

Picture this. You leave Monday morning and have printed your documents. The closest place near you…read moreis Artizan Street Library and comes recommended by your hosts. You look up their website and see they open at 8am excluding bank holidays. Monday isn't a bank holiday, so you should be ok, right? I arrive at 8:10am and they're not open. Finally someone arrives and asks me to check back in 30 minutes. I run back and start packing. In 30 minutes I return with my luggage with me. I try the door again to no avail. Nothing. I was very displeased with this time consuming experience.

Artizan Street Library functions as a library as well as a community centre. I use this place for…read moreits main function - as a place where you can borrow books, CDs and DVDs - while others come in here to peruse periodicals, to use the computers, or to participate in Pilates or Zumba classes. The books section is not bad. There's a good selection of non-fiction books and fiction (children, teenage and adult) books, as well as a small section of graphic novels. I borrow a fair amount of crime fiction from here, so can attest to the wide range of authors they stock. Rather usefully, they also have some quite nice cookbooks which may come in handy if you, like I, will be making yet another New Year's resolution to cook more often. The librarians here have always been helpful and friendly. In order to get a membership, you need to work or live in the City of London and provide proof of that, and, voila, you qualify for a library card. Membership is not required to enter the library, only if you want to borrow items or use the facilities.

One of my go-to places when I'm doing casual market research or want to seek out an article from a…read moreback issue of the Harvard Business Review. The business library is small, but fairly packed with decent resources. They have all of the hard copy Mintel reports (there's also a rumour that you can access the Mintel database, but for some reason I haven't had much success getting anything more than the abstracts to pop up... seems like I asked a librarian about this and they didn't seem to think I could get anything more than what I was seeing). There are also industry-specific publications and plenty of financial rags on tap. I like working here since it's in close proximity to the city... Monument and Bank tube stations are both nearby... and the large executive wooden tables offer plenty of workspace. If you're an entrepreneur I recommend you at least pop in here for a visit. There's lots of good information available that can help bolster your business... and plenty of fliers and info regarding entrepreneurial events and lectures that are happening in and around London.

Extremely impressed with this library for those of us going-it-alone and attempting to set up a…read morebusiness! They've a wide range of resources and a lovey, bright, airy space to work in with wifi. I'm most excited about all the talks and events they have on to support small businesses. I've signed up for a few in August. They're extremely popular so you've got to get in there quickly! c*

The Guld Library and The London Centre home to NLA (New London Architecture) are located at 3…read moreAldermanbury, London EC2V 5AA. The three scaled-down models of the City of London and very educational and informational.

Running until 22 February 2013 "The Long March to Equality: Treasures of the Women's Library"…read morecovers the history of women in Britain fighting for their rights, starting with suffrage. Comprehensive, well laid out, and free (although a donation would probably be a nice idea!), it was a great afternoon out with a friend. They have fantastic artifacts -books, clothing, speeches, poems, leaflets, buttons...loads of stuff! If you're feeling creative, you can make your own button. The front desk has a number of audio guides for free. They're like mobile phones, which are less cumbersome and antisocial than headsets like at most museums. Celebrities read out various writings important to the movement. And for the more recent time periods, people who were actually in the thick of things talk about their experiences. Highlights: Information about force feeding in prisons for women [and men] fighting for suffrage and the section about the Miss World pageant in 1970 that was disrupted by feminists I highly recommend that women and men check this exhibit out while they can!

Situated close to Bricklane, the Women's Library never fails to produce thought-provoking and…read moreunique exhibitions. I recently went to a great exhibition here about magazine problem pages throughout the century- you'd be surprised at how little our worries have changed! The inter-active element to this museum is also enjoyable, as is the little cafe upstairs.....

There is a study area which is meant to be quiet (though the library is an "open-space"), with…read moreabout 20 comfy seats and where you can plug your laptops. Wifi is free and it works! The library also has a coffee area with many seats and laptops can be plugged there as well. Toilets are clean - 1 for each gender, plus 1 for disabled people.

Great book selection. Let down by rude male librarian ( glasses and long curly hair) today who…read moreappeared to think that just by virtue of being in the children's section I was responsible for all the books left on the floor by previous toddlers. Refused to accept he had wrongly accused me and tidied up around me and my children with sarcastic comments . Such a shame. Clearly in the wrong job and a discredit to the normally helpful staff. Left us reluctant to return.

The King's Maughan University is one of my favourite university libraries. It was near my campus…read moreand I would often head there to do some work. It is in a large handsome building between the law courts and Fleet Street. The library itself is similarly large, and seems to house Kings Humanities collection. It is a decent collection, and LSE is across the road if you need other social sciences books. The mix means that you can get a reading book if you get bored of your work. Rather than having large swathes of seating there a lots of little tables, and small seating rooms. The seats are incredibly comfy and there are dividers so you don't feel exposed. It can sometimes be a little chatty but if you need to crack on there is a beautiful dome roofed quiet work room on the ground floor and higher up there are individual cubical like offices where you can really concentrate. There is also a café in the basement where you can go for a break. Additionally, Kings Students are largely very friendly and there is a nice atmosphere about the place. The Kings Maughan Library is a great library that I would encourage ULU members and academics to make use of.

In a word, stunning…read more The building housing the Maughan library is absolutely magnificent. Housed in a 19th-century Gothic building, the library is beautiful and filled with period pieces both inside and out. However, because the library is in a grade II* listed building, nothing about it can be changed. Therefore, as a researcher, the labyrinthine stacks are not only intimidating; they are downright frustrating. No matter how many times one looks for the Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, one inevitably finds oneself wandering around the first and first-mezzanine levels cursing under ones breath at the journal's seeming elusiveness. (And if one is looking for a journal title starting with a Z for the first time, (s)he will be baffled to find it on the opposite side of the library and on another floor with respect to the REST of the library's journals after bewilderedly wandering around the majority of the library's journal titles for 30 minutes. Infuriating.) More often than not, I find books I desperately want to consult are checked out, and the library's holdings aren't as numerous as those at the Senate House Library. While the interior furnishings are comfortable, contemporary, and functional, the library's mezzanine levels seem to confuse people. That is, they seem to confuse people into thinking if they're on the mezzanine level that they can have rather loud conversations with their friends without disturbing people studying on the main floor just below them. After unwillingly being subjected to conversations about one too many a drunken antic of an undergraduate, the library has left me a little jaded. For this reason, the library is, sadly, simply okay. Considering its beauty, location and history alone, it is a five-star facility.