LSE Library: The British Library of Political and Economic Science
University library LSE Library: The British Library of Political and Economic Science, 10 Portugal St, London WC2A 2HD, United Kingdom:
39 reviews
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Address: 10 Portugal St, London WC2A 2HD, United Kingdom
Website: lse.ac.uk
Phone number: +44 20 7955 7229
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Latitude: 51.5146729Longitude: -0.1157158
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reviews
Willian Bianchi
Nice, quiet and professional place to study. Good COVID measures put in place. 100% would recommend especially for students.
7 months ago
Trenill Bledsoe
A fantastic library to read, study and research! Be prepared to spend lots of time here, especially nearing to exams!
3 months ago
Shay Sav
Contrary to some of the other reviews, I found this a wonderful place to study, and the building itself is quite comfortable to spend the countless hours needed to do well at this university.
1 month ago
Kadie Crivello
More of a creche than a library. There is a constant hum of indolent weirdos having full voiced conversations. Many seem to have forgotten that the proper place to socialise is a pub, and instead take to this library to broadcast their inane chatterings to literally every corner of the building. Some even waft in between the bookcases having social calls on their phones, as if they are in a weird music video in which no one else is actually conscious. As a consequence, your best bet for getting any work done is to use noise cancelling headphones, as if you're the one acting unreasonably expecting a library to be quiet. Incredibly strange. People need to have words with themselves.
4 months ago
Mark Silverman
It’s beautiful from an architectural perspective but that’s the extend of the positive things I can say about it as a LSE student.
The library has awful seating arrangements, with too much space wasted for a spiral stairway that is uncomfortable to walk on because it doesn’t reflect normal strides (I.e. you have to take weird strides to go down the stairs, swapping between single and double steps). There is insufficient studying space and the air feels very stale. Not all desks have outlets so it can be a bit of a hunger game to find one that does.
Overall, there are much better places to study and the library is ill-suited for purpose.
5 days ago
Kevin Kloepfer
The design of the library is the worst. Almost nowhere is quiet due to the noisy elevators at the middle of the building. Also, when it's packed with students during the term time, it's hard to breathe properly due to the bad air circulation system.
6 days ago
Brian Cylkowski
Extreme poor use of space. The purpose of a university library is to provide study spaces for students. The spiraling staircases are not only a waste of space but also make the journey upward unnecessarily difficult and time wasting. Just imagine how much more spaces we would have if the architect’s main focus was actually on the utility of the structure.
1 month ago
lacey mcconomy
Many spaces to work; cool design; wish they had individual cubicles
5 months ago
Yandeh Faye
While GPS is interviewing eager students for their finance program and flocks of start up company founders swarm LSE life, your best bet is the lower ground. Hidden spaces is the crown jewel of this inhabitance. Every venture is a mission. Bring a toothbrush and recover the night to wake to continuous work; blindly drawing parallel to the international students' work ethic. The spring week is your only goal in life.
4 days ago
Patricia D
Usually there isn't much space or computers but it's usually possible to get a regular study desk. I generally try to avoid the LSE library. You can feel the stress during exams. The bathrooms are insufficient and awful.
It's nice that there is a lot of designated silent study space on various floors, and the library is absolutely gorgeous. Can be a pain to walk up and down stairs, but overall it’s a OK place. Best to just go once to see it but not make it a habit.
6 months ago
Vsevolod Kovaev
Being an LSE student who mainly uses library for self-study purposes, I’d only give a 2-star rating.
LSE library might look well designed and spacious, however it’s not the case in most of the time. Every time during term time, it may cost up to half an hour looking for a spare PC in the lower ground floor, and many computers don’t even work…
What makes it even worse is that there are loads of people talking in the PC area in LG, which is annoying and irritating.
At this exact time, I am sitting in LG of the library writing this review while the people on my left keeps talking, and one guy behind me is making a phone calls that has already last for 15 minutes.
If you are looking for a quiet and comfortable place for self-study, AVOID LSE LIBRARY!
4 months ago
Carol Korycinski
A badly designed open-plan office that’s too noisy and which doubles as the LSE's student common room. There’s no denying that the collection is world-class and the staff can be brilliant. But it’s let down by a terrible design that’s more about looking good than being a good place to study. It means the Library has the bare-faced hypocrisy to display signs that read ‘We are studying just a few feet away... Please be considerate and keep this area SILENT’ when the biggest offender is only a few feet away in the form of the library’s own pair of exposed lifts. Yes, that’s right, in the middle of the library are to be found two exposed lifts, which means you and everyone else in the library get to constantly listen to the very loud and very annoying mechanical noises they make when they move. And then there’s the vanity project that is Norman Foster’s circular staircase. You’ll love the look of them, but despise them (and the architect, Norman Foster) after walking/limping up or down them just once. The dysfunctional helter-skelter that is the main staircase, and that there are only two lifts in the busiest building at LSE (????♂️), should tell you how much Foster put looks ahead of utility in his design. His open-plan design and large atrium with the two stupid lifts allows noise to travel too easily around the building. Ever since it was rebuilt and reopened in 2001, the library has struggled with the resulting noise problems. One way the library has tried to fight it is with lots of signs asking users to be silent. However, the problem is not overly noisy library users. The problem is that the design allows any noise to travel too easily and too far. The truth is that there won’t be a solution to the noise problems until the library undergoes a major rebuild and the open-plan office design is got rid of. You could, of course, try noise-cancelling headphones or ear plugs. But this is a library and supposed to be designed to be a place for silent study! If you’re looking for a silent place to work then I’m sad to say that your best course of action is to find somewhere else.
3 months ago
Darshan Patel
This library only for University students, you can't go inside but there is an area where you can still charge your phone and work.
I didn't use their Wi-Fi but I don't think it works.
2 months ago
Sharon Mick
the collection is incredible, the design is nice and interesting but is it that difficult to put decent air conditioning?
There is no oxygen in the "course collection" silence area at all.
If you are like me- need oxygen otherwise get headache- then take the necessary book and get out of the library as soon as possible.
3 months ago
Ian Behrendt
Used to visit this place back in 2010-2012 period while studying for ACCA. So many great memories with awesome friends of hours and hours of studying in different areas of library. Its quite a place and definitely worth a visit if books are your best friends.
9 months ago
Krishna Kulkarani
Only could give three stars even I'm a student. The space is giant, but actually it's always crowded and sometimes you could not find a seat to have some quality self-study. Always noisy inside, makes it looks like a market rather than a library. The workstations for students are the technologies from a decade ago. The good thing is that employees are always helpful.
9 months ago
ivan martin
Amazing collection and helpful staff, but it’s too noisy to study and it lacks sunlight. Sometimes it feels a bit claustrophobic
2 months ago
John Oyer
Architecturally, the only thing the design accomplishes is to waste 1/2 of the possible interior space
2 months ago
Stacey Huls
Do not go to the archive or special collection. And even do not waste your time filling the application form to get the access. The staff are totally s****. Unless you are really in dire need of seeing their collection. I had terrible experience with the booking system. After a week (they promised to be in touch with you within 3 days), I sent 3 emails asking for the status of my application and nobody cared to reply. Since the date of my visit had expired waiting for their confirmation emails, I made another application for new dates. OMG! My inbox was still empty until now. Really upset. Wasting a lot of my time and money too! Shame of LSE. Will tell everyone in my office not to waste their money visiting this s**** library.
6 months ago
Rob Fayas
Amazingly designed building. Huge and spacious. Large collection of Social science research material. Friendly staff.
4 days ago
Solace T
Superb library. Wide range of reference titles. Modern. Clean. Very helpful staff. Norman Foster design.
4 months ago
Ted Marks
Really nice library very a wide collection of materials. Lots of study space but gets occupied during exam period
7 months ago
Ann F
The collection has been amassing from various strands of ideologies, methodologies, and parts of the world.
5 months ago
Florence Yan
Awesome library with insanely fast wifi. However, this is not a public library. You need to go to LSE to get in
7 months ago
Jessica Lastname
A bit noisy due to the way the building is designed. However, the design is interesting and the collection is good.
6 months ago
Britnee Marxx
A large library with loads of reference material and mini rooms for group work. The staircase, while visually appealing is awful to actually use.
3 months ago
Mackenzie Dye
Nice place to focus and study. Great varieties of books
6 months ago
David Johnson
Pretty but inconvenient.
4 days ago
Ashley Sibri
It's nice to study at LSE Library. Though the course is pretty hard.
7 months ago
Ann Wong
The worst library ever. Noisy, crowded and dirty.
4 months ago
Bailey Newman
Amazing building
great selection
5 days ago
Lynn Wood
The mice.
2 months ago
Mareaeric Campagna
No air conditioning in a library … seriously?
6 months ago
Lindsay Buzzee
Open only to students until June, the end of the exams...
4 months ago
Brian Wilson
Great library, often packed though
5 months ago
Alis Sullivan
have a look at the spiral staircase (which is annoying to actually walk on)
6 months ago
ShakZ Tv
I'm very like university
10 months ago
Barb G
LSE頗有設計感的圖書館，但樓梯走起來挺累人
3 days ago
Shauna Pettitt
大隐隐于市。
3 months ago
