London Library

London Library, independent lending library located in central London, offering membership by subscription. Its strong collections of publications on the humanities are particularly valued by journalists, writers, and scholars. The London Library was founded in 1841 by Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish essayist and historian. The earl of Clarendon served as its first president, English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray as its first auditor, and William Gladstone served on the committee. English novelist Charles Dickens was a founding member. The library’s modern form owes much to Charles Hagberg Wright, its librarian from 1893 to 1940, whose achievements included the development of a unique, flexible system for the arrangement of books and the creation of a valuable subject index. Past presidents include American-born English author T.S. Eliot.

Since 1845 the London Library has occupied a labyrinthine building in Saint James’s Square. It has been extended several times and its trim façade today belies its true size, which allows the collection of around a million books to be maintained. These books focus particularly on literature, history, and related subjects. Also well represented are the arts, philosophy, religion, topography, and travel. Books on social sciences are included, although pure and natural sciences, technology, medicine, and law are not within the library’s scope. The books range from old texts to newly published works, and a large selection of periodicals and annuals is also kept, as well as some directories and copies of The Times newspaper dating from 1814 to the present day.