Independent bookshop (and publishing house) in Nottingham City Centre.
The archives of the University of Nottingham hold excellent materials.
Providing a safe environment for women and offering support, training, activities and more.
Celebrating, promoting and researching the contribution of women to Nottingham’s history.
A brilliant place full of awesome documents, run by lovely people who are always happy to share their specialist knowledge.
Blog of the Nottingham group of the Anarchist Federation.
Turn to your friendly neighbourhood Histerians for guided walks, fine books (from their very own publishing house Loaf On A Stick Press) and talks and events. If you want to know about how our Castle got torched, our major knocked over by a massive cheese, WWI death sentences and mutineers and much more, look no further! We are very happy to curate their collection of local history books and pamphlets here at the Sparrows’ Nest.
The Sumac Centre is a volunteer-run social and community space based in Forest Fields, Nottingham and the headquarters of Veggies Catering Campaign.
Please note: this is of course by no means a comprehensive list of such places in the UK, let alone elsewhere. Many of the following are listed because we have personal ties to them, they donated materials to us, etc. For an extensive list please see also the website of the Fédération internationale des centres d'étude et de documentation libertaires (FICEDL).
The Bibliothek der Freien (see below) curate LIDIAP, a most excellent resource listing digitised anarchist periodicals from around the world.
In 2020 we joined the Society for the Study of Labour History (SSLH), who host a list of fascinating libraries and archives based in the UK.
56a Infoshop is a volunteer-run DIY social centre in Walworth, South London.
Anarchist archives.
An Archive of Writings on the Platformist Tradition within Anarchism
Texts and some contextual information.
Read more about this excellent library in our report on a congress in Frankfurt in August 2016.
An anarchist library opened in 1993. Extensive collections curated by lovely people. We met them a few times on meetings and mutual visits and they donated some excellent materials to the Nest.
Big Flame was a socialist project in the 1970s and 80s which produced a series of themed papers which were influential on the libertarian left and anarchism alike. On this site you can find information and a number of digitised publications. If you want to see the real thing, copies of Big Flame and the Libertarian Communist Group’s (LCG) paper Libertarian Communist can be found at the Sparrows' Nest.
Running adult education courses and hosting a brilliant library.
CIRA was 50 years old in 2007. The CIRA is an anarchist library and archive, a place dedicated to memory, which lives thanks to the generosity of authors and publishers, and thanks to the work of dozens and dozens of people who devote their time and money to this work of preservation.
Social centre, also featuring a library, also a member of Radical Routes.
Feminist Library holds a large collection of Women's Liberation Movement literature.
Hosted by the Berkeley Library. Primary sources and much more.
Blog rather than an archive, but interesting nonetheless.
Radical and independent book shop-come-café.
Committed to preserving and promoting anarchist history, often donates brilliant materials to the Sparrows’ Nest.
Texts and some contextual information.
A site maintained by a small collective of libertarian communists based in and around London. Features loads of materials and resources, a newsfeed, forum, etc.
Texts and some contextual information.
Texts and some contextual information.
Archive down in that London.
Radical and community bookshop.
Infoshop, café and library.
Archives of dissent, based in Glasgow.
Documents all aspects of women’s lives, with an emphasis on women in the UK throughout the great political, economic and social changes of the past 150 years.
An amazing library and archive hosting a vast treasure trove of materials documenting Working Class History from the eighteenth century onwards. Always worth a trip if you find yourself in the area!
Anarchist archive looking after numerous original sources.
Consisting of a number of sections from Europe and the Americas. The British section is the Anarchist Federation (AFed), and their local branch is Nottingham AF. We are very happy that the AFed entrusted us with their archives.
Consisting of a number of sections from Europe, South America and Australia. The British section is the Solidarity Federation (SolFed). We are very happy that the SolfFed entrustred us with their archives and that large archival collections from the various predecessors of the modern day SolFed (notably the Anarchist Federation of Britain, AFB and the Syndicalist Workers’ Federation, SWF) have also found their way in our collections.
Please note: this is of course by no means a comprehensive list of such places in the UK, let alone elsewhere. Please also see the Alliance of Radical Booksellers.
AK Press is a worker-managed independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature.
One of the last remaining radical bookshops in London.
A publishing project based in South London, exploring London radical history.
PM Press is an independent publisher that specializes in radical, Marxist and anarchist literature, as well as crime fiction, graphic novels, music CDs, and political documentaries.