The library at Taplow Court is open!
Did you know that housed at Taplow Court is one of the biggest libraries of Buddhist studies in the UK? A great treasure hidden in plain sight, writes Nigel Harte.
It contains over 25,000 books and journals on subjects ranging from Buddhist thought, art, practices, schools and sects across the world, through to the sociology, anthropology and history of religions from Asia and the West.
This library is available to be used by anyone who wishes to carry out research or simply spend a day reading. We also have a loan library of close to 5,000 books, available for anyone to borrow for a small annual subscription. While historically it has been primarily for academic research, the library is now being used increasingly by SGI members and members of the public.
The creation of a library of Buddhist studies was suggested and opened by Daisaku Ikeda when he visited the UK in 1989. The collection supports the activities of the Centre for Applied Buddhism (CfAB) at Taplow Court run by Jamie Cresswell (jc@appliedbuddhism.org.uk). This is a centre of inquiry, research and social action for people interested in exploring and investigating contemporary ideas and their relationship with Buddhist thought. It focuses on bringing Buddhist ideas and concepts into modern life and exploring what is of use and value to the issues we see around us today.
We have recently updated the library database software online to better manage this valuable resource and make joining the library and borrowing books easier, which can be viewed here. There is a lot to do, for example, registering new members, inputting new books into the database, locating books for readers, and checking them in and out of the library. If you are interested in helping on a volunteer basis, please get in touch.
After being closed during Covid, we have been unable to locate quite a number of our books, so please – take a look on your bookshelf at home, and if you find a library book, we’d be grateful if you could return it – we don’t operate a fine system!
Finally, beginning this month, the library will be open again by arrangement. For more information or to arrange a visit to the library, please contact Nigel Harte on: ngh@appliedbuddhism.org.uk.●