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Institute of Commonwealth Studies

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies along with its library was established by the University of London in 1949 to encourage research in the Commonwealth field. The main subject areas covered by the library are those of history, politics and international relations as well as agriculture, education, the environment and social questions. The library specialises in providing material which is unavailable elsewhere in the UK or, in some cases, in the country of origin.

The Institute holds over 230 different archival collections, and is particularly strong with regard to Southern Africa, where the major accession is probably that of the papers of anti-apartheid activist Ruth First. The Caribbean is another area where there are substantial holdings, including the papers of Simon Taylor, the 18th century Jamaican plantation owner, and the archive and library of the West India Company which is held on permanent loan.

Furthermore, there are various collections from early twentieth century commentators on Empire - for example, the Institute holds the papers of Sir Stephen Tallents, Secretary of the Empire Marketing Board (1926-33), Professor Sir Keith Hancock, first Director of ICS and later Director of the Research School of Social Sciences at ANU, and Richard Jebb (1874-1953), well-travelled Empire publicist and writer.

Finally, the archives also include the unique collections of Commonwealth Political Party, Pressure Group and Trade Union ephemera which are currently being added to the Archives Hub database.

The Library is open to all for research purposes, and access is free for anyone in higher education.

Address: Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, 28 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DS, United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7862 8844 Fax: +44 (0)20 7862 8820

Web: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/library.html

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