How to search the catalogue
What is the interim catalogue?
The interim catalogue contains records for our printed collection catalogued before April 2023. This catalogue is interim because our previous catalogue was damaged in a cyber-attack in October 2023.
What is cataloguing?
Each item we receive is catalogued – we create a descriptive record of each item so that we can identify it again. If it’s a book, we note the author, the title, the publisher, the physical dimensions, and the subject.
These records are collected together to form the catalogue, which you search for the items you want. You can search for books, journals, scores, maps, conference proceedings, and newspapers (although they may not all be available to consult).
How do I see items in the catalogue?
In most cases, the items you want will not be on the shelves in the Reading Rooms, but in basement storage areas. This means you need to request the item you want to see, whether it’s a book, map, score, or journal, and wait for it to be delivered to the Reading Room.
Although the interim catalogue does not list everything we have, there are still millions of items available to you, and searching the interim catalogue is the first step in seeing that material.
Some of our collection isn’t available at the moment following a cyber-attack in October 2023. You can find out more about the content available here.
Contact us
Our Reference team are specialists in our collection who can help you navigate our resources.
Whether you are conducting scholarly research, seeking historical documents, or looking for the latest publications, our team can answer your questions and help you find accurate and relevant information.
You can speak to us in the Reading Rooms, send us a message at any time, or speak to us instantly on Chat, open Monday to Friday 10.00 - 17.00