Admission
Admission is free and open to all, but we highly recommend that you book an appointment in advance. You will be asked to complete a reader registration form on arrival.
The easiest route to the study rooms is via the Exhibition Road entrance to the V&A. Go through the shop and take the lift to the third floor.
Food and drinks are not permitted in the study rooms and bags must be left in the free lockers provided.
Access to materials
Please request the materials you wish to consult in advance of your visit so that we can retrieve them for you. Due to the size of our collections, some items are housed offsite. Depending on the volume and condition of the material required, it may be possible to arrange access to our offsite store by prior appointment.
Accessibility
Step-free access is available via the Exhibition Road entrance to the V&A and by lift to the third floor. Guide dogs are welcome.
Revisiting the Collections
Our items have been collected and catalogued over almost two centuries, with some items dating back to the 15th century. Some materials and descriptions contain outdated and offensive language or need further contextualising. We are working to address this and to ensure that our collections and descriptions are appropriate to our audiences today.
Photography and reprographics
Photography is permitted for most of the items in the collection for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study. Please read our photography policy before visiting.
We also offer a digitisation-on-demand service for drawings, manuscripts, photographs and material too fragile to be copied. Please contact us for further information about our reprographics services.
Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi is available to readers.