Contact us
Ways to contact the Library
- Chat to us: Birkbeck Library live chat is available Monday to Saturday 10am - 6pm.
- Email us: email us
- Phone us: +44 (0)20 3926 1400
- Make a click-and-post request: make a request via this Birkbeck Library item request form.
- Online form: complete our online enquiry/feedback form.
- FAQs: check our FAQ knowledge base.
- Access your account: access your account.
- Return your books by post: BOOK RETURNS, The Library, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX.
- To visit the Library: the entrance is via Torrington Square, on the right-hand side on the ground floor, of the main building, number one on the map of Birkbeck building locations.
Other services and contact details
Library services
- Archive - David Bohm
- Archive - Sir Bernard Crick
- Birkbeck Data Repository (BiRD)for research data management
- Birkbeck Institutional Research Online (BIROn)for open access to Birkbeck research
- email us re BIROn
- call +44 (0)20 3926 1437
- Copyright enquiries (staff)
- email us re Copyright
- call +44 (0)20 3926 1450
- email us re Copyright
- Digitisation service(staff)
- Digitisation service(staff) previously digitised material
- Disability and Dyslexia Support
- email the Disability and Dyslexia team
- call +44(0)20 3926 1441
- email the Disability and Dyslexia team
- Eresources (ejournals, databases and ebooks general enquiries)
- Exam papers
- Image collections and digital media(LUNA)
- email us re Images and digital media
- call +44 (0)20 3926 1452
- Interlibrary loans
- email us re Interlibrary loans
- call +44 (0)20 3926 1449
- Library IT systems
- Text Us(when being disturbed by other library users eating or chatting when you are trying to study)
- Text us +44 (0)20 0333 1207
- User Support services(loans, reservations, renewals and membership, and the physical environment of the Library)
- email User Support team
- call +44 (0)20 3926 1400
Senior Management Team
- Robert Atkinson - Director of Library Services
- Elizabeth Charles - Assistant Director of Library Services: Digital Services, Systems and Collections
- Catherine Lauriol - User Support Manager
- Florence McNally - Acquisitions and Metadata Manager
- Aidan Smith - Subject Librarian
- Lorraine Sperring - Technology Innovation Manager
Subject Librarians
- You can contact your subject librarian for guidance and support in accessing the best Library resources for your particular subject.
- You can also book an appointment for one-to-one support in researching a topic or using a particular database or online resource. The individual checking availability link below will show an online calendar of times and dates your subject librarian is available, otherwise, email your subject librarian with some information about what you need help with and two or three times and dates that would be convenient for you.
- Applied Linguistics and Communication, Cultures and Languages, English, Film, Media and Cultural Studies, History of Art, and Theatre and Creative Writing:
- Geography, Philosophy, Politics and Psychosocial Studies:
- Biological Sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Psychological Sciences:
- Position vacant - Elizabeth Charles is the general contact point
- Computer Science and Informatics, Economics, Management, Mathematics and Statistics, and Organizational Psychology:
- Criminology, Law, and History, Classics and Archaeology:
Feedback and complaints
- Feedback: your feedback is very important to us - complete this online form to let us know about your Library experience.
- Complaints: please speak to a member of Library staff if you are unhappy with our service.
- If you feel your complaint has not been adequately resolved, email Catherine Lauriol, our User Support Manager.
- If having done this, you remain unhappy, you can use the College's Student Complaints Procedure
- Surveys
Student-Library Partnership Group
- This group of students and Library staff meets regularly to discuss Library matters. Students can ask questions and make suggestions, while Library staff can give updates on developments and offer training.
- Read the terms of reference for the student-library partnership group.
- If you would like to participate, email Catherine Lauriol, our User Support Manager.
Customer Service Excellence accreditation
- In September 2021, Birkbeck Library achieved Customer Service Excellence accreditation, a government standard awarded by the Cabinet Office. To achieve Customer Service Excellence Accreditation (CSE), organisations are assessed against 57 criteria in the following five areas:
- Customer insight
- Culture of the organisation
- Information and access
- Delivery and timeliness
- Quality of service.
- Our application included nearly 300 examples of good practice as documentary evidence. The assessment involved meetings with academic and professional colleagues, library staff, the Students’ Union and students. The assessor noted that "it was abundantly clear that the Library management and staff cared for their customers and were very committed to providing an effective and enabling service".
- The accreditation process runs in a three-year cycle. The 2022 review visit confirmed that we have maintained the standard and even achieved more ‘compliance pluses’ (10) for areas where we exceeded the requirements of the Standard. The assessor wrote in his report that "it was very pleasing to witness the continued commitment of the organisation towards Customer Service Excellence".
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