THE BRITISH LIBRARY OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCE
| Date | 01 November 1972 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1972.tb01339.x |
| Published date | 01 November 1972 |
THE
MODERN
LAW
REVIEW
Volume
35
November
1972
No.
6
THE BRITISH LIBRARY
OF
POLITICAL
AND ECONOMIC SCIENCE!
THE British Library of Political and Economic Science is generally
regarded as the Library of the London School of Economics. But
although
it
is housed in the School’s buildings
it
is in fact an
independent institution, founded at the same time as the School by
the same
group
of persons brought together by Sidney and Beatrice
Webb, and intended
to
serve the need
for
a
library
of
international
standing specialising in social sciences. Since
1896,
it
has been used
by scholars from all over the world. From the beginning
it
has met
the widespread need for a comprehensive collection of material in
the social sciences, including within that compass-with great fore-
sight-law. But the Library has a very coniined space; the
material on open shelves is congested; by far the larger part of the
publications is not on open access but in reserve stocks, and
facilitieis for readers are toitally insufficient.
Despite all the difficulties, the Library remains
to
this day one
of
the best law libraries in Britain. Not least,
it
maintains its col-
lection of comparative and international works which are an
invaluable asset and for obvious reasons
of
rapidly increasing
importance for legal practitioners. Moreover, in few other places can
lawyers study the legal sources which they need, in the knowledge
that the relevant materials on other social sciences are
to
hand in
adjacent rooms. This is an essential advantage at
a
time when law is
increasingly studied, als
it
should be, not as an abstract set of rules,
but as part
of
society as a whole, and when the practising lawyer is
constantly confronted with the need of understanding the social
facts underlying the legal issues which he has to handle.
Taking advantage of
a
unique opportunity, the London School
of Economics has contracted
to
purchase a large building adjoining
the School in order to convert
it
into a new home
for
the Library.
The move is planned for
1974-75
and will at last provide the space
appropriate in scale and facilities for this institution
of
world-wide
fame.
569
VOL.
35
(6)
1
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