The Maughan Library is in a 19th-century Gothic building located on Chancery Lane in the city of London. It was formerly home to the Public Record Office, the so-called “strong-box of the empire,” and is now the main library of King's College London, forming part of its Strand Campus. It was designed by Sir James Pennethorne and built between 1851 and 1858. Inside the library is the octagonal Round Reading Room, inspired by the reading room of the British Museum.
The Maughan Library has been housed in this particular building only since 2001. Even though the library collections cover a wide range of time periods (Special Collections, for example, has items from the 15th century), the library is a modern operating institution. The old building offers over 330 computer terminals for patron use, and the 1000+ patron seats available in the library include group working spaces.
