House of Commons Library

The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834.

House of Commons Library

London, England

1818 (1818)

Books, journals, official papers

350,000 items

Access restricted to Members of Parliament and their staff

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

The library has adopted the phrase "Contributing to a well-informed democracy" as a summary of its mission statement.

A confidential enquiry service for Members and their staff covering all subjects of parliamentary interest. Some 19,200 substantive requests ("logged enquiries") were received in 2010/11.

Briefings for the House and Members generally covering the business of the House and other issues of parliamentary concern. 83 Research Papers (around half on bills before the House) and 187 Debate Packs were produced in 2010/11. 494 new Standard Notes were published in the year and around 1,200 were updated at least once. Research Papers and most Standard Notes are generally available via the .

Parliament Website

Library services including reading rooms, book loans, on-line resources and reference collections. The Library is one of the main common spaces of the Houses of Parliament; Members use it for conversation, discussion and relaxation as well as consulting information sources. Reading room facilities for Members' Staff are provided in the Derby Gate Library.

Training and guidance in the use of information, particularly online resources and Library services.

The Library provides four core services to the House, Members and their staff:

In 2011, the Library had 150 staff, and occupied premises outside the Palace of Westminster (principally the old Whitehall Club at no.1 Derby Gate) as well as within it. Many of the staff have specialist qualifications in, for instance, law, statistics, and various aspects of public affairs, or librarianship. Staff of the Library are not, and have never been, employed by the civil service; they serve, and provide completely impartial advice and analysis to, Members of Parliament.

Although Members of the House of Lords may by courtesy use the Library, the House of Lords has a separate Library.

The Library is not open to the general public, though information about the history and work of the Commons can be supplied by the House of Commons Information Office. Arrangements can often be made for members of the public who wish to use resources of the Library not available elsewhere to have access to them in the Parliamentary Archives.

Parliamentary Archives

House of Lords Library

Congressional Research Service (US)

Library of Congress

(Canada)

Library of Parliament

Menhenne, David (2000). The House of Commons Library – a History, 2nd edition

Pond, Chris (2001).The Early History of the House of Commons Library

House of Commons Library