The Wolfson Library at the RAD

The Library and Archive is free to visit for RAD members, Benesh Members, RAD students and staff. If you are interested in consulting specific material, please drop us an email with the details.

For other visitors, there is a fee to access the Library and Archive and its resources. Please contact us with the details of your research and make an appointment.

All Royal Academy of Dance permanent members of staff and UK-based students enrolled on one of the Faculty of Education programmes are entitled to borrow Library material from the Library’s circulating stock.

RAD Members and Benesh Members can also become Library Subscribers, which allows up to four items to be borrowed from the circulating stock (with some restrictions).

To find out about becoming a Royal Academy of Dance Member, click here. To become a Benesh International member, click here. Confirmation of membership may take a week to arrive.

For a Library Subscription Application Form, please contact us. You will need your Royal Academy of Dance or Benesh Membership number when applying.

Donations

The Wolfson Library at the Royal Academy of Dance is pleased to accept donations of dance-related material that complements or enhances existing collections. The Library reserves the right to dispose of any material that is no longer needed or falls outside the scope of our existing collections. Donations may not be accepted if you wish to place any restrictions on their use or disposal.

Books, Journals, CDs and DVDs

Please email the library with a list of the items that you are offering before you send us any items. You can search our catalogue first to reduce the chances of offering items which we already hold. Any items sent to us without our prior agreement and which are not suitable to add to stock will usually be sold with the income used to support the Royal Academy of Dance and the work of organizations such as the Literacy Trust and RNIB.

Archival material

Please read the RAD Archive Collections Development Policy.

If you wish to donate to the archives, please contact the Archives and Record Manager to discuss the suitability of the material you wish to donate.

The Library and Archive of the Royal Academy of Dance is open to members, students, staff and visitors during these times. If you are a visitor, please contact us to make an appointment.

The online Library catalogue contains details of the library’s general reference collections, including books, journals, articles, CDs, DVDs, Benesh Movement Notations scores and resource packs.

The Archive of the Royal Academy of Dance includes past copies of exam syllabi, minutes of committee meetings, prospectuses, course brochures and annual reports alongside various documents, papers and photographs. Our special collections include rare books, manuscripts and transcripts, notebooks and scrapbooks, music scores, programmes and souvenir brochures, photographs, costume designs, and artefacts and artworks.