Background

The Library of the British Psychoanalytical Society houses the finest collection of psychoanalytic material in the world. Our stock of nearly 22,000 volumes ranges from the mid–19th century to the present day.
The Library contains an extensive collection of psychoanalytic works published in the UK, related materials from abroad, and donations from the private collections of many leading psychoanalysts, notably Ernest Jones, James Strachey and Donald Winnicott. The Library holds roughly 1600 catalogued monographs and nearly 300 journal titles, 50 of which are active. It also houses unpublished material associated with the British Psychoanalytical Society.
The selection criteria for works added to the collection have in recent years been confined to the sphere of psychoanalysis and material written by psychoanalysts. However, we also include a few works relevant to the practice of any psychotherapist, e.g. ethical guidelines and general reference material. We also aim to reflect the reading lists of the various courses run by the Institute. The older parts of the collection contain material from disciplines such as mythology, symbolism, early psychiatry and anthropology.
The Institute is financially committed to raising the profile of, and improving, its library service. Now that we have invested in more staff, new wheelchair-accessible premises and an electronic security system, we are redeveloping and conserving the modern collection and improving remote access to services.

Visiting the Library

The Library is currently open to all members of the Society at any time and to external members and visitors for 32 hours a week.

The opening hours are:

12:30pm – 8:30pm  Monday to Thursday

When you first arrive at the Library you will be asked to register for a Day/Weekly Pass or Annual Membership. If you are eligible for a discount rate then please bring proof of your status. 

Library Charges

As a security measure we may require you to place your belongings in a locker for the duration of your visit. Please do not bring hand held scanners, cameras etc. into the Library.

 
Staff on duty are:

Saven Morris (Librarian)

  Ms Hélène Martin (Assistant Librarian)  

 Membership Application Form

Please print out and return the completed form below to apply for annual Library membership.

 Annual Library Membership form - Word format
 

 Annual Library Membership form - PDF format

Library Holdings

Books

All users will have access to the main collection of English language books on the open shelves. These books are clearly labelled as lending or reference-only copies (see Library Lending Policy).

The Library has a collection of Off-Prints donated by previous Society Members of papers they have written. These are bound, kept adjacent to the main journal collection and indexed in the main card catalogue.

There is a general reference section in the Members Room consisting of dictionaries, directories, concordances etc. We also have several special and foreign collections available for viewing on request in the Board Room.

Official documents concerning the British Psychoanalytical Society are available on request to Society Members only.

Journals

The main English language journals are in alphabetical order on the open shelves.

Journal Holdings

This is a printable list of the main titles in our serials collection.

Photocopying and Printing

There is one photocopier in the library. This operates on a Flexicard system. Users can be issued with a rechargeable card: costs are 4p per sheet of A4 paper, 8p per sheet of A3 paper. There is a photocopying service available to those unable to get to the library (please see the section Library Charges for details). Printing is 4p per sheet of A4 paper.
 

Library Lending Policy

Members of the British Psychoanalytical Society and candidates for Membership of the British Psychoanalytical Society are entitled to have a maximum of 6 volumes on loan at any time.

External members of the Library (those who pay an annual fee), UCL students, anybody attending the Introductory Lectures and the Foundation Course, plus anybody attending events at the Institute will be able to visit the Library and use it for photocopying and reference purposes, but will not be able to borrow books.
 

Guide to Borrowing

Items will only be loaned provided borrowers have no books overdue or fines outstanding.

Ordinary lending: Unlabelled books may be kept for six weeks. They may be renewed within the given loan time by telephone, email, fax or in person: it is not necessary to bring books to the Library in order to renew them. Borrowers may renew the loan up to 2 times before the book must be brought in to the library.

Reference-Only: books labelled with a red sticker are not to be removed from the library.

Journals: All current and back copies and bound volumes are for reference only and are not to be removed from the library.

Library Fines: 20p per day per overdue book.

Requesting Books and Documents and Distance Services

Members of the British Psychoanalytical Society and candidates for Membership of the British Psychoanalytical Society may reserve any book on loan or on order. Ordinary lending books that have been reserved will be recalled one week after they have been loaned if there is a waiting list for them.

If you are a Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society or a candidate for Membership of the British Psychoanalytical Society and we don’t have what you require, we may be able to get it from another library, usually within 10 days. The charge to Members for interlibrary supply is £8.50 for articles and £10 for books.

All users and researchers may request photocopies of documents that we actually hold, subject to copyright rules. Please see the section Library Charges for details and order documents using our Request Form below.

We also offer services to those unable to visit the library in person. This includes supplying documents by post or, for Members of the British Psychoanalytical Society and candidates for Membership of the British Psychoanalytical Society, books. Please see the section Library Charges for details and order documents using our Request Form below.

Members may also have remote access to our Library Charges. Please contact the librarian for details.

Document Request Supply Form

Library document supply request form PDF format
 

Library document supply request form Word Format
 

Electronic Resources

The Library has one computer available for the public. As well as general internet access, users can search our catalogue, our in-house reference database, and also our Electronic Journal Holdings. There are several points available for the use of laptop machines in the main study area.

At the library we provide access to the PEP (Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing) database for all visitors. On request we can offer searching on the PsycINFO database but there is a separate charge for this.

There is a selection of links on the machine to useful psychoanalytic websites and gateways.

Training

The Library staff is happy to offer basic advice on searching PEP and other resources and we have printed guides for users to consult alone. However we may be limited by time and availability of the computer. If you would like more in-depth training please book a time with a member of staff.

Library Charges

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