Food and drink
Unlike many areas of BFI Southbank, food and drink are not permitted in the Edwin Fox Foundation Reading Room. You may bring drinking water, provided it is carried in a sealed container, such as a bottle or flask.
Your belongings
Bags are permitted, but we are unable to accommodate large rucksacks, suitcases or other bulky items. Visitors are advised to make alternative storage arrangements before arriving at the library.
Please switch mobile phones off or to silent during your visit.
Library area
The library is a shared study and research space. While silence is not required, we ask you to be considerate of others by keeping noise to a minimum, including conversations and headphone volume.
Accessing library materials
- We have self-service scanning equipment to copy eligible material to USB, and digital photography is allowed subject to copyright restrictions.
- If you would like to consult material from the closed access stack or multimedia vault, please complete a registration card at the library counter.
- Our public access computer terminals are intended solely for accessing our databases and searching our collections. Be considerate of your fellow researchers’ needs and limit your usage at busy times.
- The BFI Reuben Library is a reference library. Under no circumstances may library materials be removed from the reading room.
- Treat library materials with care and note that not all material can be copied in the interests of preserving the collection. If you are unsure, ask a member of library staff for guidance.
- If an item you require is on a high shelf, ask a member of staff to retrieve it for you.
- Please let staff know if you come across any existing damage to library materials.
- If you require help in handling an item that is particularly large or fragile, ask a member of library staff for assistance. We can provide book supports and weights to assist you.