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The Heythrop Library is part of a registered charity, and generous supporters play a vital role in helping to keep its doors open.
Please consider making a donation today and help us to continue inspiring generations of readers.
When you click on the donate link, please pick ‘Heythrop Library’ as a designation. If you would like to ‘Write us a comment’, please do.
If you are a member of any university library in the UK, you can access the Heythrop Library through your university's inter-library loans (or documents) services. They will need to contact Senate House Library's ILL department.
Some public libraries in the UK might also offer inter-library loans (or documents) services, please enquire with your local public library.
Like most libraries space is at a premium, and it costs us a lot of money to store materials in offsite stores. Therefore, we often cannot help to take book collections "in bulk".
If you would like to donate up to 10 books, please contact us by email, with a list of titles (including year of publication and author).
If you have more than 10 books, please consider first that about 90% of all pre-2000 books offered to us are held already.
When you contact us please let us also know how quickly you will need to dispose of the books. Finally, be aware that any books not needed will be offered to other Jesuit libraries in the UK, and then if still surplus to requirements we pass books on to a company which sells them on our behalf.
The Heythrop Library is owned and managed by the Jesuits in Britain who are committed to maintaining it as an ongoing resource for the Church, teachers, researchers and academics. An Expert Panel, drawn from academic disciplines related to the collections, advises on acquisitions and the Heythrop Library Committee advises the Jesuit Trustees on strategic planning and management of the collections.
The Heythrop Library subscribes to over 230 periodicals in theology and philosophy and related disciplines. We also offer on-site only access to the Religion package of JSTOR (over 100 periodicals).
Readers may currently take up to six books out on loan for up to four weeks. A working collection of around 8,000 books is kept at the Heythrop Library reading room at the London Jesuit Centre – these are mostly books relevant to courses taught at the London Jesuit Centre. Other books from the main collections are available on demand to be delivered to either the Senate House Library or the London Jesuit Centre. Delivery takes 24/48 hours.
You need to be a member of either Senate House Library or the Heythrop Library to request books from the main Heythrop Library collection (ca. 140,000 modern volumes), stored off-site.
Since March 2023, we have asked our library users to supply testimonials, sharing how and why they benefit from the collection, library services, and the Mount Street reading room.
If you are a member and would like to contribute to the testimonials, please email us: heythroplibrary@jesuit.org.uk
The Heythrop Library holds over 200,000 volumes on theology, philosophy, biblical studies, church history, spirituality and allied subjects. The collection includes rare printed books and incunabula (please note: these are not stored at the Mount Street reading room).
Paid-for membership (full)
If you do not qualify for free membership (see below), but have a serious interest in studying theology or philosophy, you can apply for paid-for membership. This costs £60 per year and includes the benefit of borrowing any of our borrowable books (on-site at the London Jesuit Centre, ca. 8,000 books), as well as over 140,000 modern volumes. Please use our full membership application form to apply.
Reference-only membership fees
For just using the reading room at Mount Street, with its ca. 8,000 books, we also offer the following reference-only membership fees: £5 per day, £10 per week, or £30 per month. Please note these reference-only membership fees will need to be paid in cash, in person (and in British Pounds). These reference-only memberships do not entitle the member to borrow any books or request books from the offsite stores (ca. 140,000 volumes). Please use our reference-only form to apply for this reference-only membership.
Free membership
Free membership is available to certain categories of readers including members of the Society of Jesus and other religious, any lay partners working full-time in a Work of the Jesuits in Britain, former Heythrop College faculty staff, priests and seminarians, teachers of religious education, London Jesuit Centre students, current HE & FE students and sixth-form students, and those unwaged. To make initial contact about becoming a member of the Heythrop Library, please get in touch. Please use our full membership application form to apply.
If you are an early-career or mid-career scholar, please see our news item on The Professor Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter scholarships.
There are three ways you can access the majority of the Heythrop Library's collections:
1 You can apply for membership of the Heythrop Library. Membership costs £60 per year and includes the facility to have books delivered to the London Jesuit Centre and to use the library reading room at the London Jesuit Centre as a place to work.
2 If you are a member of any university library in the UK, you can access the Heythrop Library through your university's inter-library loans (or documents) services. They will need to contact Senate House Library's ILL department (link see below).
3 You can join the University of London Senate House Library. Membership costs £210 per year and gives you access to University of London collections including the Heythrop Library (except the materials at the Heythrop Library reading room/Mount Street).
Heythrop Library is open to anyone with a serious interest in theology or philosophy and the related academic disciplines represented in the collection. We welcome enquiries about using the library’s collections and reading room at the London Jesuit Centre. The next two sections of this FAQ answer most membership questions, or download the most current Reader's Guide.
To check the books on your account, and to see how many times they have been renewed, please do the following:
1. Go to our catalogue (https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/search~S3/)
2. Click on "Login to your account"
3. Use your first name and surname (with a space, so "Joseph Bloggs")
4. The Heythrop Library card number, without spaces: 019.... (see the back of your Heythrop Library card)
5. Click on '[x] Item currently checked out' [x being the number of books you have borrowed]
Yes, you can get your borrowing history! To do so, please follow the steps below:
1. Go to our catalogue via https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/search~S3/
2. Click on "Login to your account"
3. Use your first name and surname (with a space, so "Sally Smith", if that's your name)
4. Use the Heythrop Library card number, without spaces: 019....
5. Click on "My Reading History"
You can read a list of the books you have (previously) borrowed, and can also click on "Export Reading History".
If you like you can also delete some of the books in your history, but maybe life is too short.
We do, but only to the UK mainland, and it comes with some special procedures. Please read the following terms and conditions, before emailing us about it.
Version 1.1, February 2024.
The library also operates a postal service which delivers books to your registered UK home address. Readers must cover the cost of postage, both ways (please see https://www.royalmail.com/price-finderfor possible costs). Postal loans are not possible to locations outside the UK mainland (if you are unsure about this, please ask us).
1. Please email us that you would like to start using the Heythrop Library Postal service, and that you agree to the Terms& Conditions, as set out in this document.
2. We will raise an invoice of£50, which we ask you to pay promptly. Please be aware that we ask for an initial BACS transfer of £50; we will use this as credit for any postal loan costs.
Please be aware that any unused credit can be reimbursed if/when your library membership ends, or you state that you no longer wish to use our postal service.
3. Please let us know the answers to the following questions:
a. Is there a safeplace at your address? (in case no one is in at time of delivery)
b. Would you like the parcel to arrive in 24h or 48h? (We use 24h tracked as standard, but – of course –it will cost more of your credit).
c. Do you want us to give Royal Mail your email address, and/or mobile number; or both, or neither(if neither: we need to add our email address for notifications on delivery, when placing the online postage order).
4. You will need to return the books as if you had borrowed them in person, i.e. if the book has been requested by someone else, you will need to return it within the requested 7 days. Also, you are expected to return books before the given due date.
5. You can return any of our books in person, or by post (if the latter, please use tracked delivery).
If the book gets lost either on the way to you, or on the postal return to us, you will need to pay for the replacement costs:
a) If the book is still available, we will charge you the RRP at the time of you reporting it lost as the cost for the replacement.
b) If the book is irreplaceable, we charge a minimum of £50; the exact charge is dependent on the perceived value of the book.
Like with any book borrowed (whether in person or by postal service), the following might impact the speed by which you will receive the book. It can happen that:
a) another borrower may place a request on the book issued to you, at any time. This might mean the time you can borrow the book is very short (once a book has been recalled by another borrower, it should be returned within 7 days of the notification email being sent).
b) If you recall a book, it might take 7days or more to be returned to us, before we can then post it to you.
c) 24 hour tracked delivery cannot always be guaranteed, i.e. it might be delayed by the time we receive the book, and put it into the post box, or indeed the next collection time of the post box.
d) The book is in one of our offsite stores which have the normal delivery times before we can then post it to you (i.e. 3x a week, with cut-offs normally on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: for delivery to us on Wednesdays, Fridays and Mondays).
If you have lost your card, we will ask for £1 in cash for producing a replacement card. It is probably best if you email us in advance of your visit. We will normally expect you to show us some photo ID when you come to collect the replacement card. Without a card you cannot borrow from us.
Initially, the standard borrowing length for our books is 4 weeks. Unless someone else requests a book, our system will automatically renew books 5 times (at 4 weeks each; instructions on how to check how many times a book has been renewed). So in theory, you might be able to borrow a book for 6 months. After that you will need to remember to renew books manually.
To renew books manually:
1. Go to our catalogue (https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/search~S3/)
2. Click on "Login to your account"
3. Use your first name and surname (with a space, so "Joseph Bloggs")
4. The Heythrop Library card number, without spaces: 019.... (see the back of your Heythrop Library card)
5. Click on '[x] Item currently checked out'
6. Renew all, or select those you wish to renew, and click on 'Renew selected'.
7. The system will show the new due date.
If the above does not work, please contact us:
or via 020 7529 4843
The Heythrop Library is part of a registered charity, and generous supporters play a vital role in helping to keep its doors open.
Please consider making a donation today and help us to continue inspiring generations of readers.
When you click on the donate link, please pick ‘Heythrop Library’ as a designation. If you would like to ‘Write us a comment’, please do.
Each borrower can request a maximum number of 6 items from our offsite stores per day; if you desperately need more, please contact us once you have requested 6 items.
We only offer scans for chapters or articles, etc., of materials housed in offsite storage.
There is no staff-assisted scanning or photocopying for material housed in the Mount Street reading room.
If you would like a scan from an item in offsite storage, please fill out the form at https://forms.office.com/e/wJutTaEmeX
Yes! ! It's filled with notices, collection highlights and behind the scenes info… Please read and let us know what you think about it.
So far, we have published the following Heythrop Library Newsletters:
Heythrop Library Newsletter, Spring 2024 (pdf)
Heythrop Library Newsletter, Autumn 2023 (pdf)
Good question! See the link below.
Often the Library is not that busy, and sometimes you might find that you are the only library user. However, we still believe calls should not be taken in the library (on a mobile or a video call on a laptop)– another library user might walk ‘into your phone call’. Calls can betaken in the corridor outside the Library, or if not inconveniencing others in the Cana Room (at the end of the basement corridor).
The Montserrat and Manresa rooms are not part of the Library; they are part of the London Jesuit Centre, and need to be booked. Their primary use is for spiritual direction. You can enquire about booking rooms at the LJC reception, or emailljc@jesuit.org.uk.
We are always very happy to talk to people who are interested in joining the library! However, the Heythrop Library is a members library; currently, only members and Jesuits may use it. As it stands, the library does not act as a lounge/social space. If you are visiting the building with family or friends, they may wait in the Cana Room at the end of the corridor.
Readers must not share, or allow any other person to use, their reader pass or online membership credentials.
Once you have borrowed a book for 6 months, automatic renewals will stop and you will either need to return the book(s), or renew it/them manually. To renew books manually, please
1. Go to our catalogue (https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/search~S3)
2. Click on "Login to your account"
3. Use your first name and surname (with a space, so "Sally Smith")
4. The Heythrop Library card number can be found on the back of your Heythrop Library card, without spaces: 019....
5. Click on '[x] Item currently checked out"
6. Renew all, or select those you wish to renew, and click on "Renew selected".
7. The system will show the new due date.
If this does not work, please contact us: heythroplibrary@jesuit.org.uk
Each book you borrow will auto renew up to 5 times (each time for 28 days), unless someone else requests it (see more under recalls). So in theory you can borrow a book for up to 6 months without doing anything. However, please be aware that our system will send an email informing you of having renewed a book. The email will look like this:
If you get any other kind of email, please read it even more carefully, as either someone else has requested the book you have borrowed from us, or you have come to the end of auto renewals. You can renew books manually.
Researchers travelling a distance to use the Heythrop Library are welcome to book bed and breakfast accommodation at the London Jesuit Centre.
When to request a book
If you find a book in our catalogue with the location given as ‘Heythrop Mount Street', it is 'Available' to be borrowed from our reading room (the only other location description for books on-site is 'Heythrop New Acquisitions'). If a book’s location is marked as either
Heythrop Deepstore [up to 2 working days]
or
Heythrop Crown [up to 2 working days]
this means that the book needs to be requested from an off-site store.
Requesting books from off-site stores
In the catalogue, please click on the request option.
Please note that when requesting books from the off-site storage facility, every request defaults to being delivered to Senate House Library. However, Heythrop Library staff will check each request, and manually process them according to the requester’s home library. The following video illustrates this process: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k7F2pvIDSaPs9VxeAXWkfp5YD9w-ipt5/view .
Such requests can take up to 2 working days to be delivered. Since 1 July 2023 the normal delivery days are Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays
Requests get processed 3 times per week:
If a request is placed before 2pm on a
Tuesday -> the book(s) will be delivered on Wednesday
Thursday -> the book(s) will be delivered on Friday
Friday -> the book(s) will be delivered on Monday
Please always wait for the email confirming that the book(s) has/have arrived.
Readers may currently take up to six books out on loan for up to four weeks.
How can I renew books?
1 Go to catalogue
2 Log in with your name and your Heythrop Library card number (starting with ‘019…’)
3 Click on x items currently checked out
4 You can then try to ‘renew all’, or select specific books and ‘renew selected’. If you have problems with renewing, please ask for your books to be renewed in person, or by contacting us.
The following cannot be borrowed:·
* Periodicals
* Reference books (with red spine labels on books in our reading room)
* Restricted or fragile items (you will be informed as soon as we have assessed them)
Some items in the Heythrop Library collections are too fragile to leave the library. We cannot guarantee that all books ordered from the off-site store will be in a condition fit for borrowing until they arrive. The librarians will alert readers if fragile books need to be consulted as reference-only materials in the Mount Street reading room. Such decisions may be made at short notice. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes and thank you for your understanding.