British Library

About British Library

National library of the United Kingdom

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the largest libraries in the world, holding an estimated 200 million items from many countries in many languages and formats: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, sound and music recordings, videos, patents, maps, stamps, prints and drawings, including around 14 million books and manuscripts dating back as far as 2000 BC. As a legal deposit library it receives a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and it adds some three million items a year occupying 9.6 kilometres of new shelving. The library was originally a department of the British Museum, occupying its famous round Reading Room from the mid-19th century; it became legally separate in 1973 and by 1997 had moved to its purpose-built building at St Pancras, next to St Pancras station on Euston Road, officially opened by Elizabeth II on 25 June 1998 and classified as a Grade I listed building "of exceptional interest" for its architecture and history. In the central atrium stands the King's Library, the collection of George III, behind a glass wall through which visitors can sometimes watch librarians retrieving books for readers. The reading rooms are reserved for registered researchers, but the free "Treasures of the British Library" exhibition displays its most celebrated holdings, including two original manuscripts of Magna Carta and Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, alongside rare Qur'an manuscripts from its Oriental collections, and paid temporary exhibitions explore historical and literary themes.

Where:

London, United Kingdom