Established in 1834, as part of the newly-founded Royal Institute of British architects, the BAL holds one of the finest collections of architectural material in the world. The Library is international in scope and covers a wide spectrum of subjects ranging from pre-history to the present day. Holdings of photograpic images, original drawings and early printed works are particularly strong.

Subjects covered by the Library include:

Architecture and the built environment
History and theory of architecture
Architectural practice and management
Urban planning
Environmental studies and landscape design
Arts allied to architecture including sculpture, decorative arts and interior design

Searchable holdings of bibliographic records (5/2010):
Monographs: 80,200
Early works: 4300 pre-1841 imprints
Audiovisual: 370 (audio tapes, CDs, DVDs etc.)
Periodical titles: 2250 titles (of which c. 600 are current)
Periodical articles: 450,000 records
Archives: 12,500 records (representing c. 800 collections and c. 1.5 million items)
Drawings/artifacts: 11,000 records (representing c. 1 million items, including: drawings, models, drawing instruments, medals, coins, sculpture, paintings, furniture, toys and other 3-dimensional objects)
Photographs: 25,650 records representing c. 1 million photographs
Biographical records: 16,860