The document introduces GRIB (German Resources in Britain), a collaborative online gateway that aims to promote German language resources in the UK. It summarizes the collections at Senate House Library, including its Germanic Studies Library and Archive which contain over 75,000 volumes, journals, and archival materials related to German language and literature. It highlights some notable items from the archive, including letters from Thomas Mann and Albert Einstein. GRIB is a network of organizations seeking to increase awareness of German resources in Britain through an online portal providing information and access to relevant library and archival holdings.

1. GET GRIB!
Introducing our collaborative online
gateway to promote German Resources
in Britain.
Andrea Meyer Ludowisy & Steve Baker

2. Senate House Library
• Senate House Library occupies
17 of the 20 floors of Senate
House
• The 4th
floor upwards
constitutes a purpose-built
Book Tower
• It was designed by Charles
Holden, constructed between
1932 and 1937 and is Grade 2
listed and its monograph
holdings exceed 2 million
items.

3. Main Reading Rooms
The Library’s main reading
rooms:
The Goldsmith's Library of
Economic Literature
Middlesex Library, North and
South: Germanic Studies
Library
Palaeography Reading Room
and the Sterling Library

4. Germanic Studies Library
• Founded in 1950 and
devoted principally to
German language and
literature, its holdings
trace the evolution and
history of the Germanic
language(s) from their
beginnings to the
present day.
• The Germanic Studies
Library comprises
• books (over 75,000
volumes), journals,
microfiches, theses, etc.
• The holdings are
predominantly in
German, reference only
and in Garside
classification

5. Germanic Studies Archive
• Archive material has
been deposited with
The Institute since its
foundation in 1950, by
many individuals and
organisations.
• A number collections
give a unique overview
of the history and
development of
Germanic studies in the
UK
• Exile archives

6. SHL Germanic Collection
• supplementary collection covering German language,
literature and literary criticism
• SHL collection concentrates mainly on translations
and criticism in English of German authors
• about 12000 to 15000 items
• the majority of the items are German/ translation
from German, but the Scandinavian languages and
Icelandic, Norwegian, Faroese, Danish, Swedish,
Dutch & Flemish are also represented

7. Gems in the Archive

8. Thomas Mann
Letter from Thomas Mann to William Rose
(WRO/5/Man)

9. Witty poem by Albert Einstein sent to his friend Lily
Hertz and a letter from Stefan Zweig to Prof. Rose

10. More gems
Canetti 1905-1994 to Martin
Miller asking for advice on
“dramatic matters” (undated,
c.1944)
(Miller 2/22)

12. GRIB: German Resources in Britain
• German Resources in
Britain (GRIB) is a
network of
organisations
committed to
increasing awareness of
the rich variety of
German language
resources in Britain.
• The primary aim of the
network is to create,
maintain and develop
an online gateway
offering information on
and access to different
institutions with
relevant library and
archival holdings.

13. Andrea.MeyerLudowisy@london.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7862 8969
Steven.Baker@london.ac.uk
Tel: 02078628453
Thank you