Members will have read the announcement about the temporary relocation of the RIBA Collections currently housed at 66 Portland Place. This will see the majority of the books and periodicals from the British Architectural Library (BAL) housed at The London Archives in Clerkenwell, while the Photographs Collection and some outsize material will be housed at a store in Stockwell. The arrangement will be for three years. During that period, public access will be provided by RIBA staff at both locations.

The Society’s Chair, Elizabeth Darling, met with the RIBA team (Oliver Urquhart-Irvine MVO, Dr Adrian Steel and Dr Olivia Horsfall) in early January for an update about the move, learning much about the considerable amount of work that has been undertaken over the past six months to ensure the safe transfer of the Library and Photograph Collections (2.8 million objects in total), and some more detail about access to them.

As previously announced, there will be, inevitably, a period of closure when no material is available so that the transfer can take place, but every effort has been made to keep this to a minimum. The Photographs Collections will close to users on 31 January 2025, the BAL will close to users on 10 April 2025. 66 Portland Place will close to the general public on 31 May 2025.

The expectation is that access to the Collections at The London Archives and in Stockwell will commence in the early autumn of 2025, with exact dates and service arrangements announced during the summer.

As well as undertaking the considerable task of preparing and packing materials for transfer (including the individual wrapping of 49,834 glass slides across 263 boxes, with more to be done!), the BAL catalogue has been merged with that of The London Archives. This will enable users to identify material and order it online in advance. BAL staff will also move to offices at The London Archives in order to assist and advise users as before (and will also be contactable by email).

Although it will no longer be possible to browse material on open shelves, a very considerable advantage of the relocation is that The London Archives has longer opening hours with Saturday opening once a month. A History Card is required to use the archives, which is obtainable on a first visit.

Plans continue to be developed for the relocation of the Drawings and Archives Collections currently housed at the V&A. The V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership concludes, as previously announced, in June 2027. As soon as there is further news about arrangements for its relocation, the Society will be updated and members informed.

RIBA Update: Packing Negatives

Book supported by SAHGB Publication Grant wins major prize