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The History collection (2nd floor, Main Library, Wilkins Building) contains sections on medieval, early modern and modern history, with particular strengths in British, European, London, American and Latin American history. Books in the openly available collection are arranged in, and in the rooms just off, the History corridor. The Ancient history collection is on the 1st floor, while Nordic history forms part of Scandinavian studies at the north end of the Main Library. The Royal Historical Society is on the same floor as the History collection. The open access part of the Society’s collection – mainly national and local record society publications – is in the History Series Room.
Explore is the principal tool to find books, journals and other materials (either in print or in electronic format) held in UCL libraries. From Explore, you will find the location details of the materials you are looking for. A typical shelfmark for a book openly available will consist of the name of a subject (indicating a section of the Library), followed by numbers and letters denoting its classified position on the shelves in that section. Finally, 3 letters will indicate the author or editor of the work.
On UCL Explore, you can look at the results of your search to quickly discover if a book is available in print or/and online: View Online means that the book is available electronically, while Available means that the book is available in print. In some cases a book is available both in print and online.
Consult introductory material or general reference works for a broad overview of your issue or topic, and to identify key concepts, theories and researchers in the field. Introductory material may include:
Find introductory material in Explore by combining a topic keyword with one of the material type descriptors above, e.g. handbook European history.
These are some examples of introductory material available for History in the Library. The list is not extensive, and you should perform your own searches to see what else is available.
UCL has access to the African Studies, American Literature, Anthropology, Architecture Planning & Preservation, Art History, Atlantic History, Biblical Studies, British and Irish Literature, Childhood Studies, Chinese Studies, Cinema & Media Studies, Classics, Communication, Criminology, Ecology, Education, Evolutionary Biology, Geography, International Law, International Relations, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistics, Literary & Critical Theory, Medieval Studies, Military History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Renaissance & Reformation, Sociology, Urban Studies and Victorian Literature modules. Accessibility statement for Oxford Bibliographies Online.
A brief guide to finding and accessing e-books via UCL Explore.
Check out our Explore guide to find out more about how to use Explore for your research.
ReadingLists @UCL is an online service that gives students easy access to materials on their reading lists wherever they are, and allows academic staff to create and update their own reading lists.
