Visiting the Britten-Pears Library
The Library welcomes visits by appointment from researchers and students (both as individuals and in parties), from schools, societies and other interested groups, and from those wishing to view its exhibitions. To arrange a visit, please contact Nick Clark, the Curator for Reader Services, by email, telephone, or post to:
The Britten-Pears Library
Golf Lane
Aldeburgh
Suffolk
IP15 5PY
Email library@brittenpears.org
Telephone 01728 451700/452615
Fax 01728 453076
Research and study visits
The Library is open to readers between 10.00am and 1.00pm and 2.00pm and 5.00pm Mondays to Fridays, and offers a wide range of reader services.
When applying to visit, please include details of yourself, the purpose of your study and, as far as possible, the subject and range of materials that will be required. Many items can be identified from the library and archive catalogues and we recommend that you undertake a search of these resources prior to your visit.
Access to the collections for research and study
The Library is made available to visitors, and strives to be welcoming and encouraging to all who are interested in its work. For this reason, a presumption to openness informs the Library’s policy with regard to access to its collections, and most items may be readily viewed by those with a bona fide reason for wishing to do so; those (few) items within the collection that are for any reason restricted (because of their fragility or sensitivity) are listed explicitly in the appropriate documentation, and the restrictions themselves are the subject of regular review by the Library Committee.
Tea and coffee are available at the Library, together with some limited lunch-making facilities (including a microwave), but please note that we cannot supply lunch. Staff will be happy to advise on the wide range of cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops available in the local area.
In some circumstances, it may be possible to provide rental accommodation for individual readers visiting the Library for extended research visits. Further details can be obtained from the Librarian. A list of nearby bed and breakfast accommodation is also available on request, and details of hotels in the area are available from the Suffolk Coastal District Council website.
Group visits
Group visits can be arranged to accommodate a wide range of interests, and will normally include a tour of the Library, an opportunity to view the current exhibition and an illustrated talk, which can be customised to take account of the particular interests and/or age group of the visit. In some circumstances it is also possible for small groups to visit parts of Britten's and Pears’s home, The Red House.
Exhibition visits
An exhibition featuring items from the Library’s collections is launched to coincide with the beginning of the Aldeburgh Festival in June each year. The exhibition is open to the public from 10.00am to 12.30pm daily for the duration of the Festival (and at other times by appointment), and includes a brief talk each morning at 11.00am.
Following the end of the Festival, the exhibition remains in place for the rest of the year and visitors are very welcome to view by appointment.
Users with disabilities
The open areas of the Library are in a single-storey building, with unstepped access and egress. toilet facilities are available. All library guides and descriptive literature are available in large-print and/or on buff paper upon request. Staff are always on hand to help visitors with access, consistent with the proper observation of standard procedures relating to conservation and security.
For those unable to visit Aldeburgh, the website offers detailed information and searchable catalogues, together with online enquiries and feedback mechanisms. As the site develops, it will in time offer much of the functionality of the virtual library, with access to digital images (both of pictures and manuscript materials), sound files, and other materials. The website has also been developed to the highest possible standards for accessibility as defined by the W3C AA standard on accessible web content. Other offsite services include photocopying (subject to conservation constraints and the provisions of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act (1988) and subsequent statutory instruments), and an in-depth enquiry service.