The Archives hold a unique and internationally significant range of archival and printed sources, ensuring their preservation and providing access to King's students, academics and other colleagues, the global research community and the general public.

Collection strengths include:-

• History of King's College London and its merged institutions
• Military and defense studies
• Travel and exploration- Empire and Commonwealth
• History of medicine and nursing- History of modern Greece
• English Literature (20th Century)
• History of science

Find out more about the collections we hold

Access

King’s students and staff must present their King’s identification card and fill in a Reader Registration form on their first visit.

All external users must present two forms of identification, one photographic and one proof of address, on their first visit and fill in a Reader Registration form.

Document retrieval

Documents held in onsite stores

Document ordering times are 11.00, 14.00 and 16.00 hours.  Requests for the following morning should be made by 16.00 hours. Orders for Monday morning should be made by 16.00 hours on Friday.

Documents held offsite

We require seven days' notice to retrieve collections held offsite. A list of affected collections can be found here.

Readers with disabilities

• Access to the Strand Building for people with disabilities
• The reading room is wheelchair accessible and there is lift access to the floor on which the Reading Room is situated
• A Topaz XL document magnifier is available for visually impaired readers
• The use of tape recorders for taking notes may be permitted at the discretion of the staff and with the agreement of other readers present
• Accessible toilets are available on the ground and third floors of the Strand building

Location

The Archives Reading Room is room S3.02 on the third floor of the Strand Building (marked Archives on the map below).