Celebrating 180 years of The London Library - Oliver Kamm

I’ve been a member of The London Library for the best part of 20 years. It’s been not only an invaluable resource but has become a central part of my life and work. As a journalist, I write opinions rather than news, and my output depends on the stuff I know: the details of policy, the sweep of history, and the apt analogy or literary reference. The Library enables me to find out new things and excavate from the back of my mind what needs to be at the forefront of it. I can’t claim to have mastered its filing system but this is part of the Library’s value as well as its charm: I will always find something that I wasn’t looking for, and that will take me further into a subject. One aspect of its coverage that is irreplaceable but not much remarked upon is that it’s part of social history itself; its mission and range of titles reflect the ethos and enthusiasms of our forebears. It is an oasis of learning and recreation, and has remained so even in these dark times of isolation.

A leader writer and columnist for The Times, Oliver Kamm’s latest book is Mending the Mind: The Art and Science of Overcoming Clinical Depression, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson