The Folklore Society

The Folklore Society Library and Archive

Click on the pictures above for a larger view of these Mumming Chapbooks from the Ordish Collection of FLS Library.

Folklore Society library facilities at University College London and the Warburg Institute:

The main library and the archives of the Folklore Society are stored by University College London but books are not on the open shelves. With the exception of recent issues of selected periodicals, all Folklore Society Library books and serials are kept in UCL's stores and are available as a 'fetch service' only. Folklore Society books and journals ordered from UCL's stores will be delivered, usually the following day, to the Issue Desk in the D.M.S Watson Building at UCL, where items that can be borrowed will be issued to holders of a valid library pass. Items that cannot be borrowed, or ordered by users with reference only passes, must be consulted in the building and returned to the Issue Desk.

Access to University College Library Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT Tel. 020 7679 2000 ext. 7789. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library

Folklore Society members may borrow books from the FLS Library and have access to UCL Library's collections.

Borrowing passes for UCL Library can be obtained by application to UCL Library Reader Admissions. Members applying for new passes will need a small photograph and a note from the Folklore Society to verify membership.

UCL Library Hours of Opening


  1. Issue Desk:
    tel. 020 7679 7789 (enquiries) / 7971 (stores issue desk)
    9.30 a.m. to 6.45 p.m., Monday to Friday
    9.30 a.m. to 4.45 p.m., Saturdays (term-time only)
    Closed for one week at Christmas and at Easter

  2. Late Opening:
    In term-time, Monday to Thursday, UCL library remains open until 10.30 p.m. though the Issue Desk closes at 6.45 p.m.

  3. Special Collections Reading Room, 140 Hampstead Road
    tel. 020 7679 5197; E-Mail: spec.coll@ucl.ac.uk http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/special-coll/
    9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday
    9.30 a.m. to 4.45 p.m. Friday
    Closed Saturdays and Sundays

Locations of FLS Library Holdings

All Folklore Society books and journals are housed in UCL's store outside London, with the following exceptions:

  1. FLS Reference Collection at the Warburg Institute

  2. Recent Journals on Open Access at UCL. The last ten years' of 45 serials are available on the open shelves in the Anthropology Section of the Science Library (2nd floor). A list of these titles can be obtained from the FLS Information Officer. They are not available for loan.

  3. FLS Pamphlets, Rare Books and Archives at UCL's Special Collections, 140 Hampstead Road
    • Pamphlets both bound and boxed
    • Folios- Folklore Society publications: complete sets of Folklore, FLS News, and archive copies of all other publications.
    • Rare books

The Folklore Society's rare books, pamphlets and archives are all stored at University College London's Special Collections at 140 Hampstead Road, N1, about ten minutes walk from UCL.

Books and pamphlets at 140 Hampstead Road may be requested in the same way as all other Folklore Society materials held by UCL, but they will be delivered for consultation to the reading room at 140 Hampstead Road.

As seating is limited, prior reservation is essential: tel. 020 7679 5197

Archives enquiries should all be directed to the Folklore Society Archivists or Information Officer/Librarian.

Catalogues

1. Card Catalogues All FLS Library accessions up to 1993 are listed in the Society's card catalogues housed at the Warburg Institute. For the time being, the card catalogues are the most complete finding aids for the Society's holdings. 2. UCL On-Line Catalogue All FLS accessions since 1988 and about two thirds of the older stock are listed on UCL's on-line catalogue. Library catalogue terminals are available in the building.

Internet

The UCL Library catalogue is also accessible via the Internet: http://library.ucl.ac.uk

On-Line Searching

Author, title and subject searches will show up UCL's copies of particular works as well as those in the Folklore Society's collection. All of our holdings are prefixed by the letters FLS.

A subject search will provide you with the classmark for the relevant section, then you can browse the FLS holdings in that section by searching by classmark. e.g. FLS C 81 for American folklore, or FLS N 53 for contemporary legends.

The on-line catalogue does not include a proportion of the older stock, nor the Society's rare books, folios or pamphlets. These will be added over the next two years and until then the card catalogue is the only list available. If you are unable to come to London to look things up in person, contact the FLS Information Officer for a catalogue search.

Ordering from UCL stores

Fill in a store request slip at UCL Science Library Issue Desk, for delivery next day.

On-line FLS books and journals in store can be ordered direct from the on-line catalogue. In UCL Library Catalogue's home page you will need to sign in by entering the barcode on the back of your reader's pass followed by your PIN (ask UCL Issue Desk).

Once you have found the book or journal you are looking for, you can request it automatically from store.

E-mail

Store requests can be E-mailed direct to: libstore@ucl.ac.uk
You will need to supply the title, publication date and classmark for books, and the volume number for serials.

Telephone

Call the Folklore Society on 020 7862 8564, or leave a message on that number, for the Information Officer to check the catalogues and make a store request for you. Please note, however that as the Folklore Society staff are only part-time, it could take several days for a store request to be placed in this way. If you need an item urgently it may be better to telephone UCL Science Library Enquiry Desk on: 020 7679 7789 to put in a store request for you.

Delivery and borrowing

Items available for loan will be issued directly, usually for two months unless recalled by another reader. Loans can be renewed on-line, or by telephoning the Issue Desk.

Fines are payable on all overdue items.

Borrowing from the Folklore Society Library via Inter-Library Loans

Members of the Society may find it easier to borrow books from the Society's collection via the inter-lending system through local public libraries. Many public libraries do not charge for this service, but even a charge for interlibrary loan requests may be more economical than the train fare to London. The Folklore Society's inter-lending code is LO/S30 and UCL's is LO/U2.

The following may not be borrowed:

Periodicals, books over 100 years old and other items marked Not for Loan. These must be consulted in the library and returned to the Issue Desk.

Magic lantern slides by H. M. J. Underhill to illustrate 'A Legend of Knockgrafton: An Irish Fairy-Tale'. Part of the Folklore Society's collections

FLS Rare Books, Pamphlets, Folios, and archive volumes of Folklore and other FLS Publications

These are held at UCL's Special Collections, 140 Hampstead Road, and must be consulted in the reading room there. An appointment is essential. None of these items may be borrowed and those with delicate or valuable bindings may not be photocopied.

Enquiries:

UCL staff cannot answer enquiries relating to the Folklore Society's collections. All such enquiries should be directed to the Folklore Society Information Officer/Librarian.

FLS Archives:

Materials from the Society's archives and manuscript collections are only available by arrangement with the Society's Archivist and/or the Information Officer. These items will be delivered for consultation in the Reading Room at UCL Special Collections, 140 Hampstead Road. An appointment is essential.

FLS Reference Books at the Warburg Institute

A small collection of around 500 essential folklore reference works and the FLS Library's card catalogues will be available on open access for reference only but not for loan beside the Society's office in the Warburg Institute. These include:

None of these items may be borrowed.

Many, but unfortunately not all, of the older FLS publications will be available in our reference collection. The FLS Library only has single copies of several titles and these have all been placed in secure storage in our rare book collection in UCL.

Some of these titles, however, are already held in the Warburg Institute's collection and will be accessible for reference. We will try to obtain duplicates of the others so that a loan copy can also be available at UCL. If anyone has unwanted copies of Mistletoe Books or earlier volumes, please let us know.

Access to The Warburg Institute's Library

Folklore Society members may also have access to the Warburg Institute's extensive reference library, which holds very many folklore-related titles and a significant proportion of books and serials also held in the Folklore Society's collections. For details on access, please contact the Folklore Society Information Officer/Librarian.

Warburg Institute On-Line Catalogue

The items in the Folklore Society's reference collection at the Warburg Institute will be removed from UCL's catalogue and added to the Warburg's on-line catalogue, which can be browsed via the library page on the Warburg Institute's website: http://www.sas.ac.uk/warburg/ or via Telnet at: library.sas.ac.uk

© The Folklore Society 2008