Libraries through the lens SOAS Library, London, UK


FOUNDED in 1916, the School of Oriental Studies (Africa was added to the school’s name in 1938) was initially an instrument of the British state to strengthen its colonial presence in Asia and Africa, writes librarian and photographer Thomas Guignard.


Students included colonial administrators, military officers and spies preparing for their overseas postings. The Second World War further exposed the strategic importance of foreign language expertise for British intelligence officers. Servicemen started piling up on SOAS’ benches to train in 192 “Uncommon


August-September 2026


Languages” and help them decode intercepted communications. Thankfully, interest in other cultures and languages goes much beyond colonial and strategic needs and enrolment con- tinued well after the war ended. By the end of the 1960s, new spaces were desperately needed for students, scholars and the impressive SOAS library, whose collections were so extensive and sought after that its status rivalled that of a national library. Thanks in part to a donation by the Rockefeller Foundation, the new library was completed in 1973. Its characteristic Brutalist design is by Denys Lasdun.


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 7


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