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About the Local Studies and Archives Centre

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About the Local Studies and Archives Centre

Containing over 200,000 items on the history of the borough, the Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre can help you discover the history of your family, the area you live in, local buildings, and more.

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to collect, preserve, make accessible, and foster interest in, the history and documentary heritage of the area today known as London Borough of Camden.

Our Address

2nd Floor
Holborn Library
32-38 Theobalds Road
London
WC1X 8PA

Picture of Holborn Libary
Holborn Library in 1960 © Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre

Our Opening Hours

Monday: 10am to 6pm
Tuesday: 10am to 6pm
Thursday: 10am to 7pm
Alternate Saturdays: 11am to 5pm

The forthcoming Saturdays we will be open in 2025 are:

July  26
August 9, 23
September 6, 20
October 4, 18
November 1, 15, 29
December 13, 27

Consultation of archives is by prior appointment.

To make an appointment or if you have an enquiry, contact the Local Studies and Archives Centre:

Email: localstudies@camden.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7974 6342

A Virtual Tour of the Centre

Take a look at our newly refurbished Centre here

Swiss at Sixty Oral History Project 

As part of our celebrations of the 60th anniversary year of Swiss Cottage Library, we are delighted to announce that Camden Libraries are collaborating with oral history specialists, digital-works, on a project to capture people’s memories of using and working in this landmark building. If you have stories of the library you would be happy to share, contact Matthew Rosenberg at mat@digital-works.co.uk.

As part of the project, we are also looking for volunteers to carry out interviews. As well as attending talks from historians and architects and going on a behind the scenes tour of the library, volunteers will have an opportunity to receive training in both interviewing and audio recording and then, with support, to carry out interviews. These interviews will be permanently preserved in Camden’s archives, made publicly available, and used in the production of a documentary film on the library’s history. If you are interested in participating in this way, contact Sav Kyriacou at sav@digital-works.co.uk.

Further information about the project can be found here at Swiss @ 60.

Hidden Voices Project

Volunteers are wanted to participate in an exciting new project to unearth Camden's hidden Black history. Participants will receive training in oral history and historical research.

Full details of Hidden Voices Project

If you are interested please email the project manager, Emily Momoh at emily.momoh@camdenbbh.org

Our Catalogue

Search the catalogue of our collections

Borough Photos

Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre is now a participant in the online resource – “Borough Photos”. This is a unique collection of images from across twelve London Borough archive collections. You can search by theme, key word or postcode. All images are available to purchase as museum quality prints.  You can access the Camden section here

Oil Paintings Online

You can view our oil paintings collection online

Local History Links

Links to websites containing information on local history and archives