IMechE Library and Archive

IMechE Library - now featuring Lego!

Whether you're bringing little ones for a visit or just want a little break (we won't judge!) we now have some Lego available ☺️

Sarah and Ellen gave a library talk and building tour yesterday to a group from the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME).

Our Membership Development Team visit organisations around the country and beyond to encourage engineers to begin their journey to professional registration. Our library talk and tour demonstrates one of the many benefits of becoming an IMechE member!

Have lovely weekends everyone!

We'll see you on Monday for our first webinar of the year - search "IMechE webinar hub" to register for free!

It's a very wet and soggy day here in London, so we're dreaming of last week when there was a hint of Spring in the air! 😍

It's Hydrogen Week!

With hydrogen set to play a major role in decarbonising many sectors - including power, transport, and industry - we've put together a list of ebooks and online journals on the topic.

Read our subject guide here: https://bit.ly/3QqlSnf

You can also borrow these books if you like - request them using our Library Search! https://bit.ly/searchourlibrary

London is such a fascinating mix of old and new!

If you're visiting us, Horse Guards Parade is a few minutes' walk up the road - well worth a look!

Today marks 100 years since Verena Holmes was elected Associate Member, making her the first woman member of the Institution. 🥳

To celebrate this milestone, Head of the Information and Library Service, Sarah, has written a piece giving insight into Holmes’s career, membership, and personality through Institution records. Read it here: https://bit.ly/3uLlMQv

To misquote the Starks - Spring is coming! 🌱

What are you looking forward to about Spring?

[Image description: looking towards the Institution building across a sea of yellow daffodils in St James's Park]

Who says engineering isn't romantic? 💕

We are back open today from 12 noon!

Thank you for your patience while we were closed due to filming... sometimes we're just too pretty for our own good 💅 😉

Looking for a place to work remotely / study? Head to imeche.org/library-archive for info on visiting us!

⚠️ The Library and Members' Hub will be closed on Monday 12th February and will reopen at noon on Tuesday 13th.

Alternative study space will be provided during this period - please ask at Reception.

We apologise for any inconvenience this causes!

The Library and Archive team will still be available as usual online for any enquiries.

📧 [email protected]
📧 [email protected]
💬 Chat with us on our webpages!

📢 Calling all followers!

We're curious to know how many of our followers are members of the Institution!

Cast your vote in our quick poll below and let's see the incredible community we have!

Are you an IMechE member?

You asked, we listened!

We now have two screens available to use in the Library and Members' Hub, for those of you that like an extra screen.

The Library and Members' Hub is open Monday - Friday, 9:30 - 17:00.

We've had over 40 of you visiting us already and we've only been open a week! 🥰

Rain? ☔
In London? 🇬🇧

Groundbreaking.

[Image description: the Institution headquarters on Birdcage Walk, with Big Ben in the background, and a rainy, grey sky.]

#2024

Christmas is on the way! 🎄

The IMechE HQ at 1 Birdcage Walk will be closed for two weeks over the festive period, so swipe for our Library and Members' Hub opening hours and the team availability.

Thursday 14th Dec: Library and Members' Hub closes at 5 P.M.

Monday 18th - Friday 22nd: Library and Archive team are online.

Tuesday 2nd January: Library reopens and the team are back online and in the library.

Can you believe Christmas is in 3 weeks?? We've definitely got some shopping to do! 😬

The IMechE HQ at 1 Birdcage Walk will be closed for two weeks over the festive period, so swipe for our Library and Members' Hub opening hours and the team availability.

Thursday 14th Dec: Library and Members' Hub closes at 5 P.M.

Monday 18th - Friday 22nd: Library and Archive team are online.

Tuesday 2nd January: Library reopens and the team are back online and in the library.

The flags along Horse Guards Road add some nice colour to this autumnal morning!

Frankenpumpkin has had a THRILLING afternoon doing some light reading.

Happy Hallowe'en! 🎃

An iconic view 💅

Want to visit us? The Library and Members' Hub is open Monday - Friday, 9:30 - 17:00.

imeche.org/library-archive/members-hub

Happy birthday to our second president, Robert Stephenson!

Or is it?? 🤔

His date of birth was first recorded in our membership register as "Dec. 16" ...which is not today.

But as you can see, "Dec. 16" was, at some stage, crossed out and replaced with "Nov. 6"...which is also not today.

One biographer wrote that Robert celebrated his birthday on November 16th, (also not today) evidenced by diary entries of some of his friends.

However, his birth date is noted in his baptism record as 16th October.

So, for whatever day he chose, we'll say happy birthday Robert! 🥳

Hello pelicans! 👋

Sarah and Ellen spotted the famous pelicans whilst on a lunch time walk around St James's Park🚶‍♀️

Today we welcomed graduates from TFL, taking them on a building tour and introducing them to the library. We hope you had a good time, guys!

We have over 30,000 books on our shelves - but we have even more online 👀

We are your specialist engineering library service, and we offer all IMechE members:

✅ access to over 75,000 online resources
✅ a free enquiry service
✅ a postal loan service
✅ an interlibrary loan service for items we don't hold
✅ a welcoming Library and Members' Hub at IMechE HQ.

Explore all we have to offer: imeche.org/library-archive

📧 email our friendly librarians with your enquiries - [email protected]

Happy Friday from your Library and Archive team! 🌞

On the rare occasion that we're all in the office together, we like to make the most of it and spend lunch outside in beautiful St James's Park!

What's in the box??⁠
⁠
Our Archivist Lucy was apprehensive at first when she discovered it was a reel of 35mm film, as some older 35mm film can be flammable! But this is safety film - phew!⁠
⁠
The film contains images of meeting notes from the Institution of Automobile Engineers, which merged with IMechE in 1947. As part of a shelf audit of the archive stores, this item will be repackaged in a protective archival box to preserve it for years to come. 😊

⁠

Whether you're a little kid or a big kid - help yourself to colouring pencils and activity sheets if you're visiting!

Good morning from beautiful Birdcage Walk! 😍

Are you an engineering student or apprentice? Have you used our library services? If so, we’d love to hear from you!

We’re putting together a video and would love to hear from students and apprentices about their experience of using the library services or visiting the Library and Members’ Hub.

If you’d like to take part, please record a short video in portrait, and send it to [email protected].

Thank you!

Want to learn how to access ebooks, articles, and request items from our shelves?

Check out our video for a quick introduction to the Library Search!

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NYl78pRgs7w