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British Library

British Library
The British Library from the piazza
51°31′46″N 0°07′37″W / 51.52944°N 0.12694°W / 51.52944; -0.12694
Location96 Euston Road
London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
TypeNational library
Established1 July 1973 (1 July 1973)
Architect(s)Colin St John Wilson
Mary Jane Long
Branches1 (Boston Spa, West Yorkshire)
Collection
Items collectedBooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings and manuscripts
Size170–200 million+[1][2][3][4] items

13,950,000 books[5]
824,101 serial titles
351,116 manuscripts (single and volumes)
8,266,276 philatelic items
4,347,505 cartographic items
1,607,885 music scores

6,000,000 sound recordings
Legal depositYes, provided in law by:
Access and use
Access requirementsOpen to anyone with a need to use the collections and services
Other information
Budget£142 million[5]
DirectorSir Roly Keating (chief executive, since 12 September 2012)
Websitebl.uk
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameThe British Library, piazza, boundary wall and railings to Ossulston Street, Euston Road and Midland Road
Designated31 July 2015 (2015-07-31)
Reference no.1426345[6]
British Library highlights film, 2014

The British Library is a research library in London that is the national library of the United Kingdom.[7] It is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million[1][2][3][4] items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the United Kingdom. The Library is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages[8] and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings. The Library's collections include around 14 million books,[9] along with substantial holdings of manuscripts and items dating as far back as 2000 BC. The library maintains a programme for content acquisition and adds some three million items each year occupying 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) of new shelf space.[10]

Prior to 1973, the Library was part of the British Museum, also in the Borough of Camden. The Library's modern purpose-built building stands next to St Pancras station on Euston Road in Somers Town, on the site of a former goods yard.[11] There is an additional storage building and reading room in the branch library near Boston Spa in Yorkshire. The St Pancras building was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 25 June 1998, and is classified as a Grade I listed building "of exceptional interest" for its architecture and history.[12]

  1. ^ a b Wight, Colin. "Facts and figures". bl.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b "BL Accounts 2019" (PDF). bl.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b "BL Exhibition Notes". bl.uk. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b "How Big is the UK Web Archive?". bl.uk. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b Library, British (26 July 2010). British Library thirty-seventh annual report and accounts 2009/10. Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-10-296664-0.
  6. ^ Historic England. "The British Library, piazza, boundary wall and railings to Ossulston Street, Euston Road and Midland Road (1426345)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Using the British Library" Archived 23 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine. British Library. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Using the British Library". British Library. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  9. ^ "The British Library; Explore the world's knowledge". British Library. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  10. ^ The British Library Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11, p. 31 Archived 24 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Symonds, Matthew (3 June 2011). "Shadow of St Pancras: Excavating the Age of Steam". Current Archaeology (256): 12–19. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference listed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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