Planned strike action in St Pancras

We have been notified of planned strike action by the PCS union at our St Pancras site.

We aim to open Humanities 1 and Humanities 2 and the Rare Books & Music Reading Rooms. On days when they are open the Reading Rooms will close at 17.00.

Our Boston Spa Reading Room will be open as usual.

Please contact us in advance of your visit to check with our team if your item will be available.

We will be running a reduced service during this period. Some events delivered by members of our Reference Team may have to be rescheduled and they will be in touch as required.

However, we will still:

• Have members of staff on the Reference Desks in the Reading Rooms that are opened
• Answer enquiries via our online form, although there may be some delays 
• Offer our Chat service, although this may be reduced.

We will need to cancel any Sound & Vision appointments and the Asia and Africa Print Room will be closed. Our team will be in touch with any bookers to reschedule your appointment.

You will still be able to request collection items as usual, but please bear in mind that some materials may not be available to consult during this period. You will receive a message if your request cannot be fulfilled. You can request collection items to consult after 9 November as usual. 

Reader Registration will be open but we anticipate it being very busy and so would recommend that you wait until after the strike period to renew your pass if possible.

We will have to close the exhibition space at 18.00 on Tuesday 28 October and Tuesday 4 November. Affected bookers will be contacted. Otherwise we are planning to open Secret Maps and Story Explorers as usual but there is a chance that there may be potential disruption at short notice. We will contact bookers with as much notice as possible if their booked slot is impacted.

Unfortunately, we have to cancel all Building and Treasures tours during this two-week period. Our Customer Services team will be contacting affected bookers and arranging refunds/exchanges.

We are planning to run all our events as planned, with the exception of our Building and Treasures Tours. There is a chance that there may be potential disruption at short notice and we will contact bookers with as much notice as possible if their event is impacted.

Individual bookers will be contacted if their event is impacted by our Customer Services team. For more general updates on services, please check our website and social media channels.