Goodenough Library welcomed into the Independent Libraries Association
The College is proud to have been accepted as a member of the Independent Libraries Association (ILA) – a unique institution founded in 1989 to further the conservation, restoration and public awareness of a too little known but significant section of the UK's cultural heritage.
The Independent Libraries Association describes itself as “Your doorway to a world of fact and fiction, literary culture and heritage, study, leisure pursuits and information, shared interests, common goals, inspiration and ideas, hospitality, companionship, conviviality and refreshment” making it a fitting partner for the College with its emphasis on learning, community and conviviality.
Other ILA members include the London Library, the Wiener Holocaust Library, The Athenaeum in Liverpool, Belfast’s Linen Hall Library and Gladstone’s Library in North Wales. Together, the Association’s members possess over two million books and have many listed buildings in their care. Many also possess charitable status. They combine the preservation of their historic collections and beautiful buildings with a supply of the latest books and periodicals, a personal service to their members and research facilities for non members. The majority still retain their independence and all of them possess individual characteristics which are valued by regular users and new visitors alike.
Goodenough Collections
Goodenough Library’s main lending collection comprises more than 10,000 titles of fiction, non-fiction, academic textbooks, poetry, theatre and more, some of which was acquired by former librarians, others donated by residents over the years. These are available for loan to College Members.
It is also the home of the Sybil Campbell Collection, which was established in 1928 in Chelsea as the Crosby Hall Library. Over 1,400 treasures from the Sybil Campbell Collection are now housed alongside Goodenough College’s own library collections. Some books are interesting for their provenance, with material donated by significant figures of the 1920s and 1930s such as Ivy Davison, L. P. Hartley, Alys and Bertrand Russell, George Bernard Shaw, Caroline Spurgeon, Lytton Strachey, Virginia and Leonard Woolf and others. The Collection’s highlights include Hogarth Press first editions, a 1748 edition of John Rocque’s map of London and what might be the world’s most complete collection of titles by the small Chelsea publisher Swan Press.
The Sybil Campbell Collection was moved from the University of Winchester to Goodenough College in late 2023, following an agreement with the BFWG Sybil Campbell Collection Trust, and independent charity closely associated with the British Federation of Women Graduates.
To access the Collection, College Members and visiting researchers may locate titles using the Sybil Campbell Collection online catalogue (developed by Jose Lopez Blanco, Academic Librarian at the University of South Wales), and then contact the College Librarian to arrange to view the materials.
Goodenough Library is open 24/7 to Members, Alumni and College guests. Members of the public who wish to visit the library or access the the collection for research should contact the College Librarian Olivia Ho, tel: +44 (0)20 7837 8888/ email: library@goodenough.ac.uk
Website https://www.goodenough.ac.uk/student-life/facilities/study/
Instagram: @goodenoughlibrary
