Trades Union Congress Library Collections

The TUC Library is the major research library for the study of all aspects of trade unions and collective bargaining with both historical and contemporary coverage. The emphasis is on Britain, but many other countries are represented, especially Europe and the Commonwealth.

The TUC Library was established in 1922 and was based on the integrated collections of the TUC Parliamentary Committee, the Labour Party Information Bureau, and the Womens Trade Union League. It was run as a joint library with the Labour Party until the TUC moved to Congress House in 1956. The collection was developed for the use of the TUC and affiliated unions, but its specialisation has led to its parallel development as a major research library in the social sciences. In September 1996, the Collections moved to their new home in the London Metropolitan University Holloway Road library.

The Collections also hold the deposited records of the Workers’ Educational Association, Labour Research Department and the Mary Macarthur Holiday Trust.

The Library holds material collected by the TUC up to the end of 1993, although later material will continue to be deposited on an annual basis. In a few select areas, eg TUC and British trade union publications, current material will be added regularly to the Collection, in accordance with the collection management policy.

The core areas of the collection are reference and historical works on the trade union movement, union publications from the UK and overseas, documents relating to working conditions and industrial relations in various industries, and material collected from the wide-ranging campaigns and policy areas in which the TUC has been involved since its foundation in 1868.

A major strength of the Library are the large holdings of pamphlets from unions, pressure groups and campaign movements, collected from the 19th century onwards, which have survived here as in few other comparable libraries. Important research collections cover:- union activities, international affairs, labour biography, women workers, strikes, the Labour Party publications, the Communist Party and other political groups and campaigns. A more detailed survey of the collections is available.

Source notes on special collections:

• SOURCES FOR CARIBBEAN STUDIES IN THE TUC LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
  
  caribbean-studies.pdf
  
  
• SOURCES FOR COLONIAL AND COMMONWEALTH HISTORY IN THE TUC LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

  
  
• SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE EUROPEAN LABOUR MOVEMENT IN THE TUC COLLECTIONS
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

  
  
• SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF WOMEN AND GENDER ISSUES IN THE TUC COLLECTIONS
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

  
  
• RESEARCHING HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND CITY PLANNING IN THE TUC COLLECTIONS
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

There are over 5000 periodical titles in runs ranging from one issue to eighty years. Lists of current trade union press and labour history journals are available.

Outline descriptions of our archive holdings are available on the AIM 25 Archives in London website.

In addition, catalogues of the following collections are searchable online via the following downloads:

• The Marjorie Nicholson Collection
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

  
  
• The Gertrude Tuckwell Papers
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

  
  
• Workers' Educational Association Library Archive
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

• Labour Research Department Archive
  
  downloadable file.pdf
  
  
• Mary Macarthur Holiday Trust Archive
  
  

  downloadable .pdf file

There are over 900 files of newspaper cuttings relating to personalities, trade unions and other organisations. There is web access to the press cuttings database.

Look on the University’s online library catalogue to check whether we have information on the subject you are researching . Please note that only a minority of our holdings, including items added to stock since January 1999, can be seen on this catalogue. If you cannot see what you need, please use our online enquiry desk.

You can also access our digital resources through the history websites:

• The Union Makes Us Strong
• The Workers’ War : Home Front Recalled
• Winning Equal Pay : the value of women’s work

We accept enquiries by telephone, post, email and fax as well as in person - see Contact details, and we are happy to advise on other potential sources for labour history or trade union materials. However, we are unable to undertake extensive research. All visitors must are advised to make an appointment before coming to the library, and please note our access arrangements.

The library is open to visitors Monday - Friday 9.15 - 16.45. It is closed at weekends and public holidays, with longer breaks Christmas and New Year. There is no charge for access. There is wheelchair access.

Users are advised to make an appointment before their visit and access is at the discretion of the Librarian. The Collections are available to all University staff and students and to external users who are pursuing research interests which cannot easily be met elsewhere. The collections are available for reference only.

To make an appointment, telephone 020 7133 3726, fax 020 7133 2529 or email tuclib@londonmet.ac.uk.

Tel: 020 7133 3726
Fax: 020 7133 2529
Email: tuclib@londonmet.ac.uk