As someone who enjoyed and still enjoys the rigorous research that you have to do when writing academically, I discovered a lot of resources that I realised students didn’t even use. It is easy to dismiss the writing aspects of an architecture course but hear me out it is a really important aspect of your degree. It is a life skill to write academically and to write well. I’ve seen people who have failed to see the correlation a good essay can have with the rest of your design work.
In many ways, you learn to be critical because you want everything to make sense when you are writing. Your portfolio tells the narrative you choose to tell. As for every story, there is a beginning, middle and end. That becomes applicable to everything you do then. Along the last few years, I have grown to admire the creative process far more because when you know the formula for a great story it feeds into everything you do, whether its a written or graphical portfolio.
What is great at university is that you have access to previous storytellers in all the different formats they choose to provide their research in. From books to magazines, journals to youtube videos today more than ever we have access to more than any other generation to hand. And since it is easy to miss great resources here is my take on some essay material that I almost missed out on.
Initial disclaimer:
Most of the resources I will be mentioning is mostly applicable to UK Students whether architectural or otherwise, however, you may find some of the suggestions mouldable to your circumstances. At the end of this article, I have linked all the places I’ve recommend you visit if you want to become a free member to access some of the resources I mention. Enjoy!
1. Google Scholar
Google it, many would say when you are trying to find out something. But when that something is some research material you are going to have to be more specific which is where this browser comes in handy. Google Scholar is the place to find the relevant research material on a worldwide database. On here, with just a few words you can browse so many different books and journals within the comfort of you home. You have the opportunity to browse through different research material, and if you are fortunate in some instances you can get a preview of a few pages of this book or article. Sometimes all you need is a few pages to figure out whether a particular source will be relevant or useful. It can help you narrow down to what is relevant to you and your essay, from a variety of researchers, authors and historians that have already discussed your research matters. I decided to mention this source, as it is available to everyone as long as you have access to the internet.
It was and still is a resource that has allowed me to become efficient in research as it lets you browse through academic material that is reliable and respectable as sources to reference from later on. I have used Google Scholar to help me find out what books on our module reading list were relevant to the essay discussions, theories, drawings and photographs I wanted to analyse. It is a great starting point for your research and is useful for finding all kinds of information related to your research.
2. Public Library
Now if the book you are looking for isn’t architecturally orientated (i.e. construction or art) you may be surprised to find some research material in your public/local library. What makes things easier for everyone is that nowadays you can request and reserve books to collect from a large database that is available in a catalogue online. For me, the local library was great for some of the optional reading lists in our module guides. And just like many of the other places I’ll be mentioning you have the opportunity to request that they buy a book to add to the selection of books they already have.
However, one thing to bear in mind is that because public libraries tend to be government-funded they are a little more restricted to buy books – which means it isn’t always possible to get the titles you want, but it is definitely worth a try. I was able to get some of the books on my reading list that were all on loan at my university’s library, they were readily available for me to use which meant I could borrow them for as long as I needed.
You’ll be surprised to find that there is a decent collection for you to borrow, so as a place of reference I would check your local library to see what they have on offer. I ended up finding a few of my reading list suggestions here, where it was rarely used which made it a lot easier for me to go through.
3. University Library
Now this place is probably one of the, if not the first place you go to find all the books you need (from your reading list or your personal reading). More times than not this library should be where you find all the books you need. However, you may encounter some issues that make it a little difficult for you to start your research. One of them is that because your course has loads of students, all the copies are on loan and you don’t want to be that jerk that makes someone return a book they need when you need it right? Fear not, there are other ways you can get these books, and that is why this list is five and not three.
The university library tends to be well-stocked on various research material so in the case that you do find the book you're looking for, you might be one of those people who seem to be so overwhelmed with how much is in the library that you simply can’t locate the book you are looking for. And there is a solution to that, thanks to the fact that most libraries have a digital database that registers all the titles they have, including where they are in the library, but if you can find them you can reserve them. This will obviously mean that you won’t be able to get the book there and then, which is great when you are a little early in your research, all you have to do is wait for a few days (no longer than two days in my experience) and you’ll be able to collect them as soon as possible.
But wait, what about when they don’t have any of the titles you found on your google scholar search of references? Well if it isn’t within your budget to buy a book, you can request that the library buys the book on your behalf, stocking a copy for you once it is made available on loan. But first, check what the policy on this is with your university library. Sometimes they have a budget – like my university did where if the book was less than £50 they could purchase it. If you ask me, this is a great selfless act that seems selfish at first but trust me future students would be grateful that you decided to ask for a resource that may be incremental for their research.
4. The British Library
This place for obvious reasons is known for having a larger than life collection of books on absolutely everything. So if your research dives into other topics that aren’t completely relevant to architecture (and even if it is) you are sure of finding material for the research you are doing.
What makes this library particularly useful is that you don’t have to go in person.
You heard me.
You can request that your university library borrow a book on your behalf from the British Library. This is super convenient if you don’t want to travel into Zone 1 and you are more likely to find it there because the British Library has one of the largest collection of material dating back to various times in history. But unlike the sources I’ve mentioned before not each book/material is loanable in the same way.
What do I mean by that? Not all books that the university borrows for you can be taken out of uni grounds. Since some of the material is limited in its publication or is older/more expensive it can be limited to a single-use. Well, that is what happened to one of the books I borrowed in the same way as mentioned above. At first, it seemed inconvenient but I was glad to find that I had a certain period of time before the university would have to return it. It forces you to use your time wisely and find all the relevant information as quickly as possible, which can be a good thing if you are one to overthink on your essay. You need to get on with writing your essay, so this pushes you to find the necessary information to begin the more important aspect of writing the essay.
But if you do want to explore the British Library (for various reasons… beautiful architecture - they even have a model of the place on one of the floors) but obviously for some reading material, they have a catalogue of historical material. The only way to access this material is to have a readers pass - which is like a student membership to go into what they call the Reader’s room and it’s free! I’ve linked below how to get it as well as the online catalogue for you to check out. I didn’t become a member because I found what I needed across all the other ways I mentioned above, and found it more convenient through the next essay resource haven.
5. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Library
The RIBA is the place to find anything on architecture – from books, magazines and journals the various formats of research material is abundant. But what makes this place so great for architecture students is that they have the material in different languages – it is like using the British Library but at the convenience of the university library. Like many of the resources I have mentioned, they have a catalogue (which I will link below) where you can do all the searching for what they have available. Sometimes if you arrive early enough there are work stations where you can simply sit down with your laptop and notepad and get to work. You’ll need to place your belongings in a locker which means you should take only what you need to work with. The only inconvenience is that there are limited workstations and that you cannot take out the books you want to use. Most of the time, there is somewhere you can work and that you can take out books but at an annual fee. More importantly, you can still use the books there, you can use a photocopy machine for a small charge that is pretty minor. And if you are like me who struggles to find things you can easily ask the reception for a form that you need help locating a particular book, magazine or article and right away you have assistance.
Before you can do any of this, you need to sign up as a student member to access the library (link below). This is free for the duration that you are a student (and the year after you graduate it is still valid and renewable for that year) – just bring your Student ID Card or a form of ID to make things easier for you when you arrive at the West London location. It also comes with perks like getting discounts to RIBA talks and workshops - so you most definitely can make the most of the RIBA.
Sometimes essay writing isn’t the challenging part of your written module, it is usually the research element that slows you down. I hope that by using the resources I’ve mentioned you will be able to find the research material that you need as soon as possible to ensure that you don’t take time away from working on the parts that you may struggle the most in. If you find these resources or tips helpful, let me know in the comments below I’d love to see that these are useful to others just as much as it was for me. And if you have any suggestions on finding some more resources feel free to share, would love to add to the list of resources to check out!
(copy and paste these into your browser for your convenience)
Here is a link to the RIBA library catalogue:
http://riba.sirsidynix.net.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=KC0q56fJXJ/MAIN_CAT/X/60/53/X
And the sign up to become a student member:
https://register.architecture.com/Students
British Library
If you are interested in becoming a student member or what they call a Reader’s Pass, here is the link below on how that process works.
https://www.bl.uk/help/how-to-get-a-reader-pass
As for the main catalogue collections:
http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=BLVU1