CILIP Government Information Group Visit : Historic England Library, Swindon, Monday 26th June 2pm - 4pm

 

We are delighted to announce an in-person visit to the Historic England (HE) Library. The Library is one of a small number of government libraries across the home nations with a focus on the historic environment. It is located alongside the organisation's Archive at HE's Swindon national office in the Grade II listed former general offices of the original Great Western Railway. The Library provides information services to HE and English Heritage staff across the country as well as public access to its collection of over 60,000 books and 1,400 journals and reports on all aspects of the historic environment for reference use. The collection has incorporated holdings from several government heritage libraries going back to the late 1800s.

 

This visit will provide an opportunity to explore the building and the Library's holdings, including an antiquarian collection featuring items dating back to the 16th century, and to learn about the challenges of managing a service for a geographically dispersed user base from a small library site over the last few years, as well as to hear about the Archive and the history of the site, and to ask questions and network with fellow information professionals.

Chris Allen, National Monuments Record Centre, Swindon - geograph.org.uk - 710414, CC BY-SA 2.0

 

Located near Swindon's railway village, the HE office is less than ten minutes on foot from Swindon railway station. Limited parking may be available. Registration for this visit will be open until Sat 24th June 2023. This event is free, but please note that places are limited to 15 people and advanced booking is required.

 

Registration for the visit is available to CILIP members here.