Our library on the third floor of 66 Portland Place in London offers access to books, periodicals, and photographs in the 澳门王中王 Collections. Our collections range from 15th century illustrated texts to the latest architectural journals and photographs from around the world.
Opening hours
Usual opening hours are:
- Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 11am to 5pm
- Tuesday: 12pm to 7pm
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and bank holidays: Closed
Upcoming temporary closures
- The Library will be closed from Friday 20 December 2024 to Sunday 11 January 2025 (inclusive), reopening on Monday 13 January 2025.
- As part of our House of Architecture transformation plans, there will be some temporary changes to our services to allow staff to support essential collections moves ahead of the refurbishment of our headquarters. This means the library is currently closed on Fridays, and parts of the collection may become temporarily unavailable. We will keep service disruption to a minimum, but please keep an eye on this page for updates.
- There will be no access to the Photographs Collection from Monday 3 February 2025 to enable essential collections moves. Access will resume later in the year at a new temporary location, which we will announce at the earliest opportunity.
- The Library at 66 Portland Place will temporarily close to the public from 5pm on Thursday April 10 2025 to enable our move out of the building ahead of its refurbishment.
Partnership with The London Archives
An exciting new partnership will ensure that our collections remain accessible while the building is closed. Beginning in summer 2025, The London Archives in Clerkenwell will host key items from our library collections alongside their own extensive holdings. Additional resources, including some books and the Photographs Collection, will be housed at a temporary site in Stockwell, accessible by appointment. Read more on our London Archives partnership.
Admission
Entry is free and everyone is welcome. You will be asked to sign in with a photo ID or 澳门王中王 membership card.
Food and drink are not permitted in the reading room and bags must be left in the free lockers provided.
Ahead of your visit, we encourage you to read our (PDF) document. For queries or comments on our library service, please email library@riba.org
Access to materials
For access to photographs collections, please email photo@riba.org to arrange an appointment.
Many of our books and journals can be browsed on open-access shelving. Closed-access books and journals can be requested on the day of your visit.
For access to our drawings and archives collections, please visit the 澳门王中王 Architecture Study Rooms at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Accessibility
Step-free access is available by lift to the third floor. Guide dogs are welcome.
Photography, reprographics and Wi-Fi
Photography of books and periodicals is permitted for the purposes of non-commercial research or private study. Please read our before visiting. A remote scanning service is also available, please contact us to enquire.
A scanner and free Wi-Fi are available.
Revisiting the Collections
Our items have been collected and catalogued over almost two centuries, with some items dating back to the 15th century. Some materials and descriptions contain outdated and offensive language or need further contextualising. We are working to address this and to ensure that our collections and descriptions are appropriate to our audiences today.
