Libraries

If you are an external visitor or alum, you must contact the library in advance of visiting. See our FAQ below.

If you are a current student or staff member, you can visit the library to study, browse and borrow items during the opening hours below.

Library Opening Hours (term-time) 

Monday, 09:00 – 19:00 

Tuesday, 09:00 – 19:00 

Wednesday, 09:00 – 19:00 

Thursday, 09:00 – 19:00 

Friday, 09:00 – 17:00 

Saturday, 10:00 – 15:00 

Sundays and Bank Holidays, Closed 

Winter Vacation Opening Hours

Facilities

• Study spaces 

• PCs including several modified for users with visual impairment and/or dyslexia 

• All PCs have a suite of software including Microsoft Office, Sibelius, Auralia, and Musition 

• Self-service photocopying, printing and scanning 

• Training and assistance in using library resources and software 

• Student email and file storage 

Location

The Jerwood Library is located on the second floor of the East Wing of King Charles Court (the Music Faculty building). For directions to King Charles Court please see the Visit Us section of the website.

Access

Step-free access is available throughout the East Wing. An induction loop for hearing aid wearers is available at the library desk. If you have other access needs, please contact the library for advice. 

You can use Jerwood Library Search to find physical items in the library, including books, sheet music and recordings, as well as online resources via the separate tab on the results page.

Quick links (Trinity Laban login required)

• Use our online research tool QuickSearch to find online recordings and research.
• Check your library account and renew your items on Jerwood Library Search.
• The Jerwood Library Information page on Moodle contains further information about the library and guides to research and using the library’s resources.
• To find out if the library holds a particular journal, check our Journal Finder tool. Printed and electronic journal subscriptions held by both the Jerwood Library (Faculty of Music) and Laban Library (Faculty of Dance) can be found on this list.

Jerwood Library Search contains information about everything in the main collection except some LPs and the contents of collected editions. The contents of several special collections are also included; please see the Collections and Archives page for details.

Can I visit the library in-person if I have not studied at Trinity Laban, or am an alum? 

Yes, our research collections are open to all those who are engaged in research of any type. The library is also open to alumni of Trinity Laban; reference only access to library collections is provided and you can continue to access many of our online resources within the library. 

External visitors must make an appointment in advance, while alumni need to give a minimum 24 hours’ notice of visiting to both the library and reception teams. At present we can only receive visitors on weekdays. 

Contact the Jerwood Library to make an appointment to access the collection and for details of requirements currently in place.

I attend another college / university; can I borrow items from the Jerwood Library? 

If your institution is a member of SCONUL Access, you may be able to borrow a limited number of items from the library. SCONUL Access enables staff and postgraduate students to borrow from other higher education libraries within the scheme, and also allows undergraduate students to use other libraries for reference purposes. Register online for the SCONUL Access scheme in advance, then bring your institutional ID and a copy of your ‘SCONUL Access approved’ email when visiting us.

You must make an appointment in advance. Contact the Jerwood Library to make an appointment, with reference to our current opening hours. At present we can only receive visitors on weekdays.

If you have any questions about the Jerwood Library’s involvement in the scheme, contact Edith Speller, (020) 8305 4422. 

May I borrow from the library? 

Unless you are a current student or staff member of Trinity Laban, or an eligible member of SCONUL Access (see above), you cannot borrow items from the Jerwood Library. However, if there is a specific item you wish to borrow, you may be able to do so through the Inter-Library Loan scheme. Please contact your local public or academic library for more information. 

As a visitor, can I access the library’s online subscriptions? 

Visitors can access our online resources within the library as long as our licence for the resource(s) in question permits ‘walk-in access’. You can download or print material up to the usual copyright limits, but please note that charges apply for printing. If you would like to access an online subscription, please request assistance from library staff who can log you in with a guest account. Visitors cannot access any of the library’s online subscriptions remotely i.e. from home or elsewhere. 

How can I find out what’s in stock at the library? 

Use Jerwood Library Search. Viewing the details of an item will confirm whether a copy is currently available. 

Where else can I go to borrow music materials? 

Your first port of call should be your local public library. You can usually obtain materials through your local public library and best results can be obtained by planning well ahead and giving the library plenty of notice of your requirement. Materials not in their stock can normally be obtained on inter-library loan for a small fee. 

We particularly recommend joining the Barbican (City of London) and Westminster public libraries if you are based in London. These have extensive music library collections (books, scores and CDs) and offer access to Naxos Music Library and other specialist music online resources. 

Most public libraries also offer access to online resources including Grove Music (Oxford Music Online), Encyclopaedia Britannica, Oxford Reference, Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford English Dictionary, online newspaper archives, and many other resources. 

If your public library is unable to obtain the materials you require, you could investigate getting a reader’s pass for the British Library, which is most likely to hold the scores and recordings you require but remember access to these collections is for reference only. Remember too that, aside from books, scores and manuscripts, the British Library also holds newspapers, journals and sound recordings. Check the British Library’s online catalogue to see what they have. 

Other academic, special, and national library catalogues can be checked via Library Hub Discover and many of these libraries also welcome researchers to use their collections on a reference only basis or may charge modest subscriptions to allow borrowing. 

We also recommend the following online resources: 

• Cecilia – a guide to music collections in archives, libraries and museums in the UK and Ireland.

• The National Archives

• IMSLP – a virtual library of public domain music. Double-check the UK copyright status of pieces before printing and using scores

Additionally, we maintain an online list of recommended resources.

Please speak to library staff if you would like any further guidance on sourcing materials. 

Have a question which hasn’t been answered? 

If your question isn’t answered here or elsewhere on the website, please contact us with your enquiry.

Enquiries 

+44 (0)20 8305 3951 

jlpa@trinitylaban.ac.uk 

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The Jerwood Library welcomes your support in the form of Financial Donations and Bequests. 

We have in mind a variety of projects, large and small, which we are currently unable to realise, so your support is greatly appreciated. 

The Jerwood Library has limited capacity to accept donations of items. The library can generally only consider materials which support the music faculty’s teaching and research needs and fall within the scope of the library’s Collection Management Policy.

If you’d like to donate, please contact us here.