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, London
56a Infoshop is a volunteer-run DIY social centre in Walworth, South London.
Anarchief, Gent and Appelscha (Belgium and Netherlands)
Anarchist archives.
Anarchism and the Platformist Tradition
An Archive of Writings on the Platformist Tradition within Anarchism
Mikhail Bakunin Reference Archive, in: Marxists’ Internet Archive
Texts and some contextual information.
Biblioteca e Observatório dos Estragos da Sociedade Globalizada (BOESG), Lisbon (Portugal)
Read more about this excellent library in our report on a congress in Frankfurt in August 2016.
Bibliothek der Freien, Berlin (Germany)
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
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.
Bishopsgate Institute, London
Running adult education courses and hosting a brilliant library.
Centre International de Recherches sur l'Anarchisme (CIRA), Lausanne (Switzerland)
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.
The Cowley Club, Brighton
Social centre, also featuring a library, also a member of Radical Routes.
The Feminist Library, London
Feminist Library holds a large collection of Women's Liberation Movement literature.
The Emma Goldman Papers
Hosted by the Berkeley Library. Primary sources and much more.
The Hippies Now Wear Black - Crass and the anarcho Punk movement 1977-1984
Blog rather than an archive, but interesting nonetheless.
Hydra Books, Bristol
Radical and independent book shop-come-café.
Kate Sharpley Library, London and California
Committed to preserving and promoting anarchist history, often donates brilliant materials to the Sparrows’ Nest.
Pëtr Kropotkin, in: The Anarchist Library
Texts and some contextual information.
Libcom.org
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.
The Nestor Makhno Archive - The Makhnovshchina & Revolution in Ukraine
Texts and some contextual information.
Errico Malatesta, in: Marxists’ Internet Archive
Texts and some contextual information.
MayDay Rooms
Archive down in that London.
News from Nowhere, Liverpool
Radical and community bookshop.
Schwarzen Radieschen, Graz (Switzerland)
Infoshop, café and library.
Spirit of Revolt
Archives of dissent, based in Glasgow.
The Women’s Library (at LSE), London
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.
Working Class Movement Library, Salford
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!
Tyneside Anarchist Archive
Anarchist archive looking after numerous original sources.