The British Library of Political and Economic Science is part of the London School of Economics. I am not sure if it is fully open to the public, but for postgraduate researchers with Sconul band A, most of its collection is available to borrow. They reserve some 'course books' in a little ghetto for their students, which is fair enough I suppose.
I use the BLPES regularly for my research. It has an excellent collection of historical texts on political economy, as well as the expected volumes on economic theory and applied economics. There is an archive in the basement. The reading room is surprisingly small, but there is normally a seat free. The archivists are knowledgable, friendly, and helpful, but not afraid to enforce the silence rule (a good thing).
The library also has a large collection off-site, which can usually be ordered for same-day delivery. Strangely, there are also a number of documents of historical significance housed on the top floor, in open access. I presume they have been tucked away because, as textbooks on economic theory, they are outdated. Really they should be in the archive as some of them are in delicate condition and are gathering dust up on the top floor. They are literally gathering dust. Often I have to blow the dust off like Indiana Jones. There are lots of different work areas. In busy times they have a system to prevent people 'booking' desks all day by leaving their stuff around. This is a good idea, but it needs to be enforced more rigorously. The archive staff would clear them desks in a flash.
Some minor criticisms from the point of view of the external user. Despite having a log-in account for renewing books, external users cannot pre-order stack service texts online like registered students, instead you have to fill in a slip at the issue desk. I do not see who this benefits. Also, the men's toilets are always, always really smelly. Worse than some public toilets. Slightly off-putting when filling your water bottle from the purpose-built water taps (there are fountains outside the toilets but you cannot fill a bottle here).
Finally, the stairs are really scary. A spiral staircase spans five or six floors in an open plan central column. You are often tempted to lean over the edge to give yourself the willies. Perhaps they are getting the budding economists used to dealing with this temptation so they don't all leap off the top of buildings during the inevitable global economic crisis. That's my theory. read more