British Library#Highlights of the collections

The British Library was created on 1 July 1973 as a result of the British Library Act 1972.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/facts/history/index.html |title=History of the British Library |publisher=British Library |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213000359/http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/facts/history/index.html |archive-date=13 February 2010 |url-status=dead }} Prior to this, the national library was part of the British Museum, which provided the bulk of the holdings of the new library, alongside smaller organisations which were folded in (such as the National Central Library,The National Central Library, a tutorial system and a scholarly library for working people who were not connected to an academic institution, had been founded by Albert Mansbridge. "Mansbridge, Albert." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. the National Lending Library for Science and Technology and the British National Bibliography). In 1974 functions previously exercised by the Office for Scientific and Technical Information were taken over; in 1982 the India Office Library and Records and the HMSO Binderies became British Library responsibilities.Whitaker's Almanack; 1988, p. 409 In 1983, the Library absorbed the National Sound Archive, which holds many sound and video recordings, with over a million discs and thousands of tapes.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212095749/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/soundarch/about/soundarchive.html |archive-date=12 February 2010 |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/soundarch/about/soundarchive.html |title=About the British Library Sound Archive |publisher=British Library |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead }}

The core of the Library's historical collections is based on a series of donations and acquisitions from the 18th century. These are known as the "foundation collections",{{Cite book | last=Wedgeworth | first=Robert | year=1993 | title=World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services | edition=3 | publisher=ALA Editions | isbn=978-0-8389-0609-5 | page=[https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi0000unse/page/149 149] | url=https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi0000unse/page/149 }} and they include the books and manuscripts of Sir Hans Sloane (d. 1753), whose decision to donate his library and natural history collection to the nation led to the formation of the British Museum.{{Cite journal |url=https://bl.iro.bl.uk/concern/articles/d8351c3e-db67-455b-b839-f96135055400 |title=Sir Hans Sloane's Books: Seventy Years of Research |date=16 December 2022 |doi=10.23636/nv4f-eh09 |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=31 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131164813/https://bl.iro.bl.uk/concern/articles/d8351c3e-db67-455b-b839-f96135055400 |url-status=live |last1=Walker |first1=Alison |journal=Electronic British Library Journal }} The trustees of the museum also purchased the Harleian Library collection of Robert Harley (d. 1721) for £10,000;[https://bl.iro.bl.uk/concern/articles/06a82b57-e3fc-4e9d-b826-d04d84473543 Manuscripts Supplied to Robert Harley by John Bagford: Further Information from BL, Harl. MS. 5998] bl.uk{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=P. R. |title=A History of the British Museum Library, 1753–1973 |date=1998 |publisher=British Library |isbn=978-0-7123-4562-0 |page=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbritish00harr/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater}}{{efn|£10,000 in 1822 is approximately {{Inflation|UK|10000|1759|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-1}}, according to calculations based on Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.{{cite web|last1=Clark|first1=Gregory|title=The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)|url=https://www.measuringworth.com/ukearncpi/|access-date=22 February 2023|publisher=MeasuringWorth|date=2023}}}} Also provided to the library was the Cotton library, the former collection of Sir Robert Cotton (d. 1631); this was already in public possession and had been housed at Ashburnham House, Westminster. These three collections were later joined by the Old Royal Library, donated by George II,{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=P. R. |title=A History of the British Museum Library, 1753–1973 |date=1998 |publisher=British Library |isbn=978-0-7123-4562-0 |page=6 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbritish00harr/page/6/mode/2up?view=theater}} and the King's Library of George III;{{cite web|url=http://snfcc.snfoundation.org/snfcc/EN/index.php?ID=Zq437NxVGjNsz7nf_EN |title=Similar Projects – The British Library |publisher=Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100207115528/http://snfcc.snfoundation.org/snfcc/EN/index.php?ID=Zq437NxVGjNsz7nf_EN |archive-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead }}

File:Entrance to the British Library, Street 5, Thorp Arch Trading Estate (10th July 2020).jpg (on Thorp Arch Trading Estate), West Yorkshire]]

For many years its collections were dispersed in various buildings around central London, in places such as Bloomsbury (within the British Museum), Chancery Lane, Bayswater, and Holborn, with an interlibrary lending centre at Boston Spa, {{convert|2.5|mi|0}} east of Wetherby in West Yorkshire (situated on Thorp Arch Trading Estate), and the newspaper library at Colindale, north-west London.

Initial plans for the British Library required demolition of an integral part of Bloomsbury – a seven-acre swathe of streets immediately in front of the Museum, so that the Library could be situated directly opposite. After a long and hard-fought campaign led by Dr George Wagner, this decision was overturned and the library was instead constructed by John Laing plcRitchie, p. 188 on a site at Euston Road next to St Pancras railway station.{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyassociation.org.uk/news/news20070919134787 |title=What and Where is Bloomsbury Village? |publisher=Bloomsbury Association |access-date=28 February 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402145627/http://bloomsburyassociation.org.uk/news/news20070919134787 |url-status=live }}

Following the closure of the Round Reading Room on 25 October 1997 the library stock began to be moved into the St Pancras building. Before the end of that year the first of eleven new reading rooms had opened and the moving of stock was continuing.Ovenden, Richard (1997) "The big move", in: Rare Books Newsletter; 57: winter 1997, pp. 49–53 From 1997 to 2009 the main collection was housed in this single new building and the collection of British and overseas newspapers was housed at Colindale. In July 2008 the Library announced that it would be moving low-use items to a new storage facility in Boston Spa in Yorkshire and that it planned to close the newspaper library at Colindale, ahead of a later move to a similar facility on the same site.{{cite web|title=British Library Announces Collection Moves Strategy|url=http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/The-British-Library-Announces-Collection-Moves-Strategy-34e.aspx|publisher=British Library|access-date=16 July 2013|archive-date=16 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416182852/http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/The-British-Library-Announces-Collection-Moves-Strategy-34e.aspx|url-status=live}} From January 2009 to April 2012 over 200 km of material was moved to the Additional Storage Building and is now delivered to British Library Reading Rooms in London on request by a daily shuttle service.{{cite web|title=200km of books successfully moved to high-tech home|url=http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/200km-of-books-successfully-moved-to-high-tech-home-56e.aspx|publisher=British Library|access-date=16 July 2013|archive-date=23 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123172415/http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/200km-of-books-successfully-moved-to-high-tech-home-56e.aspx|url-status=live}} Construction work on the Additional Storage Building was completed in 2013 and the newspaper library at Colindale closed on 8 November 2013. The collection has now been split between the St Pancras and Boston Spa sites.{{cite web|title=Newspaper Moves|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/newspapermoves/index.html|publisher=British Library|access-date=16 July 2013|archive-date=31 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731013749/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/newspapermoves/index.html|url-status=live}} The Library previously had a book storage depot in Woolwich, south-east London, which is no longer in use.{{cite web |title=Thirty-eighth Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a75a658ed915d6faf2b49f3/1159.pdf |access-date=27 December 2024 |page=25}}

File:The British Library Entrance Hall, London, July 21, 2024.jpg

The new library was designed specially for the purpose by the architect Colin St John Wilson in collaboration with his wife MJ Long, who came up with the plan that was subsequently developed and built.{{cite news|title=MJ Long obituary|author=Peter Carolin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/18/mj-long-obituary|work=The Guardian|access-date=16 October 2018|date=18 September 2018|archive-date=16 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016203318/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/18/mj-long-obituary|url-status=live}} Facing Euston Road is a large piazza that includes pieces of public art, such as large sculptures by Eduardo Paolozzi (a bronze statue based on William Blake's study of Isaac Newton) and Antony Gormley. It was the largest public building constructed in the United Kingdom in the 20th century.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/facts/index.html|title=British Library – About Us|publisher=British Library|access-date=7 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724162623/http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/facts/index.html|archive-date=24 July 2010|url-status=dead}}{{Cite book|last1=Walkowitz|first1=Daniel J.|year=2009|title=Contested Histories in Public Space: Memory, Race, and Nation|last2=Knauer|first2=Lisa Maya|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-4236-6|page=103}}

File:British Library + St Pancras 7527-31hug.jpg behind it]]

In the middle of the building is a six-storey glass tower inspired by a similar structure in the Beinecke Library, containing the King's Library with 65,000 printed volumes along with other pamphlets, manuscripts and maps collected by King George III between 1763 and 1820.{{Cite book | last=Nichols | first=Thomas | year=1870 | title=A handy-book of the British Museum: for every-day readers | publisher=Cassell, Petter, and Galpin | page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4rVCAAAAIAAJ/page/n441 396] | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4rVCAAAAIAAJ }} In December 2009 a new storage building at Boston Spa was opened by Rosie Winterton. The new facility, costing £26 million, has a capacity for seven million items, stored in more than 140,000 bar-coded containers and which are retrieved by robots{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/8393248.stm |title=Robots used at £26m British Library store |date=3 December 2009 |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100207115221/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/8393248.stm |archive-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead }} from the 162.7 miles of temperature and humidity-controlled storage space.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/news/2009/pressrelease20091203a.html |title=Minister opens British Library's new £26 million storage facility in Yorkshire – the most advanced in the world. |date=3 December 2009 |publisher=British Library |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=7 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207232819/http://www.bl.uk/news/2009/pressrelease20091203a.html |url-status=dead }}

The Euston Road building was Grade I listed on 1 August 2015. It has plans to open a third location in Leeds,{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-47693835|title=British Library plans new base in Leeds|work=BBC News|date=25 March 2019|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=27 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227091714/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-47693835|url-status=live}} potentially located in the Grade 1 listed Temple Works.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/2053294-historic-city-landmark-explored-as-potential-home-for-british-library-north|title=Historic city landmark explored as potential home for 'British Library North' | TheBusinessDesk.com|date=12 March 2020|access-date=12 March 2020|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406161331/https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/2053294-historic-city-landmark-explored-as-potential-home-for-british-library-north|url-status=live}}

In 2005 the British Library started the UK Web Archive project, collecting and preserving websites from the UK. Each time the library collected data, it contacted the website owners for the permission to archive their websites.{{cite web|access-date=11 January 2025|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/webarchive/2024/09/creating-and-sharing-collection-datasets-from-the-uk-web-archive.html|website=British Library blog|date=18 September 2024|title=Creating and Sharing Collection Datasets from the UK Web Archive|author=Carlos Lelkes-Rarugal}}

In 2012 the UK legal deposit libraries signed a memorandum of understanding that have allowed the library: to automatically collect all websites and create a shared technical infrastructure implementing the Digital Library System (DLS) developed by the British Library.{{cite web |date=21 June 2013 |title=Undertaking to the joint Committee on Legal Deposit, on the security of non-print publications |url=http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/websites/security/joint_security_undertaking.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417121644/http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/websites/security/joint_security_undertaking.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2016 |access-date=1 May 2016 |publisher=The British Library Board}} On 5 April 2013 the Library announced a project to archive all sites with the suffix .uk in a bid to preserve the nation's "digital memory" (which as of then amounted to about 4.8 million sites containing 1 billion web pages). The Library made all the material publicly available to users by the end of 2013,{{update inline|date=January 2025}} and would ensure that, through technological advancements, all the material is preserved for future generations, despite the fluidity of the Internet.{{cite web |title=British Library to preserve nation's entire Internet history |url=http://news.msn.com/world/british-library-to-preserve-nation%e2%80%99s-entire-internet-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618191813/http://news.msn.com/world/british-library-to-preserve-nation%E2%80%99s-entire-internet-history |archive-date=18 June 2013 |access-date=4 September 2013 |publisher=MSN}} After UK government passed the "Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations 2013", British Library were able to add an extension to the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 to include non-print electronic publications from 6 April 2013.{{cite web |year=2013 |title=The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations 2013 No. 777 |url= https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/777/contents/made|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828184923/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/777/contents/made |archive-date=28 August 2024 |access-date=1 May 2016 |publisher=Crown}}

Four storage nodes locations (in London, Boston Spa, Aberystwyth, and Edinburgh) are linked via a secure network in constant communication automatically replicate, self-check, and repair data.{{cite web |year=2013 |title=Security for electronic publications |url=http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/websites/security/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508092154/http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/websites/security/ |archive-date=8 May 2016 |access-date=1 May 2016 |publisher=The British Library Board}} A complete crawl of every .uk domain (and other Top-level domains) has been added annually to the DLS since 2013,{{cite web|website=British Library blog|date=16 September 2013|access-date=11 January 2025|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/webarchive/2013/09/domaincrawl.html|title=Crawling the UK web domain}}{{cite web|website=British Library blog|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/webarchive/2023/07/ukwebarchivetechnicalupdate-summer2023.html|access-date=11 January 2025|date=12 July 2023|title=UK Web Archive Technical Update - Summer 2023|author=Andy Jackson}} which also contains all of the Internet Archive's 1996–2013 .uk collection. The policy and system is based on that of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which has crawled the .fr domain annually since 2006; with the help of the Internet Archive until 2010.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{Main|British Library cyberattack}}

File:British Library Highlights.webm

On 28 October 2023 the British Library's entire website went down due to a cyber attack,{{cite web |last1=Banfield-Nwachi |first1=Mabel |date=31 October 2023 |title=British Library suffering major technology outage after cyber-attack |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/31/british-library-suffering-major-technology-outage-after-cyber-attack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108142221/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/31/british-library-suffering-major-technology-outage-after-cyber-attack |archive-date=8 November 2023 |access-date=9 November 2023 |website=The Guardian}} later confirmed as a ransomware attack attributed to ransomware group Rhysida.{{cite web |date=14 November 2023 |title=British Library Twitter statement |url=https://twitter.com/britishlibrary/status/1724491881017405696 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115180824/https://twitter.com/britishlibrary/status/1724491881017405696 |archive-date=15 November 2023 |access-date=14 November 2023 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Sherwood |first=Harriet |date=22 November 2023 |title=Personal data stolen in British Library cyber-attack appears for sale online |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/22/personal-data-stolen-in-british-library-cyber-attack-appears-for-sale-online |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209004316/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/22/personal-data-stolen-in-british-library-cyber-attack-appears-for-sale-online |archive-date=9 December 2023 |access-date=12 December 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite magazine |last=Knight |first=Sam |date=19 December 2023 |title=The Disturbing Impact of the Cyberattack at the British Library |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-disturbing-impact-of-the-cyberattack-at-the-british-library |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220114107/https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-disturbing-impact-of-the-cyberattack-at-the-british-library |archive-date=20 December 2023 |access-date=21 December 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker}} Catalogues and ordering systems were affected, rendering the great majority of the library's collections inaccessible to readers. The library released statements saying that their services would be disrupted for several weeks,{{cite web |date=8 November 2023 |title=British Library Twitter statement |url=https://twitter.com/britishlibrary/status/1722323954168181184 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109010507/https://twitter.com/britishlibrary/status/1722323954168181184 |archive-date=9 November 2023 |access-date=9 November 2023 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}} with some disruption expected to persist for several months.{{cite web |date=29 November 2023 |title=Cyber incident update |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2023/11/cyber-incident.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130114833/https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2023/11/cyber-incident.html |archive-date=30 November 2023 |access-date=5 December 2023 |publisher=British Library}}

As at January 2024, the British Library continued to experience technology outages as a result of the cyber-attack.{{cite web |title=Cyber incident update |url=https://www.bl.uk/cyber-incident/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119195415/https://www.bl.uk/cyber-incident/ |archive-date=19 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=British Library website updates | the British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124171227/https://www.bl.uk/ |archive-date=24 January 2024}} By October 2024 many of the previously inaccessible services had been restored, including remote item ordering, online learning services and online manuscripts.{{cite web |last1=Keating |first1=Roly |author1-link=Roly Keating |title=Restoring our services – 10 October 2024 update |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2024/10/restoring-our-services-10-october-2024-update.html |publisher=British Library |access-date=28 December 2024 |language=en}}

In March 2025, the British Library announced plans for a £1.1 billion renovation, funded by Japanese property developer Mitsui Fudosan. The project aims to expand the library's public spaces, adding 100,000 square feet for cultural, learning, research, and business activities, along with 600,000 square feet of new commercial and retail areas.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-19 |title=£1.1bn British Library extension plans to go ahead - developer |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5nvyk46wvo |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}

File:BritishLibraryInterior02.jpg

{{further|Notable items of the British Library collections}}

The British Library is a legal deposit library. In England, legal deposit can be traced back to at least 1610.Robert C. Barrington Partridge "The history of the legal deposit of books throughout the British Empire", London: Library Association, 1938 The Copyright Act 1911 established the principle of the legal deposit, ensuring that the British Library and five other libraries in Great Britain and Ireland are entitled to receive a free copy of every item published or distributed in Britain. The other five libraries are: the Bodleian Library at Oxford; the University Library at Cambridge; Trinity College Library in Dublin; and the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales. The British Library is the only one that must automatically receive a copy of every item published in Britain; the others are entitled to these items, but must specifically request them from the publisher after learning that they have been or are about to be published, a task done centrally by the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries.{{cite web|title=About the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries|url=https://www.legaldeposit.org.uk/about.html|publisher=Legal Deposit Libraries|access-date=19 March 2023|ref={{sfnRef|"About the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries". Legal Deposit Libraries}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115031926/https://www.legaldeposit.org.uk/about.html|archive-date=15 November 2022}}

Under the terms of Irish copyright law (most recently the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000), the British Library is entitled to automatically receive a free copy of every book published in Ireland, alongside the National Library of Ireland, Trinity College Library in Dublin, the library of the University of Limerick, the library of Dublin City University and the libraries of the four constituent universities of the National University of Ireland. The Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, and the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales are also entitled to copies of material published in Ireland, but again must formally make requests.

The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 extended United Kingdom legal deposit requirements to electronic documents, such as CD-ROMs and selected websites.{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030028_en_1 |title=Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=3 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203183316/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030028_en_1 |url-status=dead }}

The British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) and the Library's Document Supply Collection and its Secure Electronic Delivery is based at the Library's site in Boston Spa. Collections housed in Yorkshire, comprising low-use material and the newspaper and Document Supply collections, make up around 70% of the total material the library holds.{{cite news |date=13 December 2012 |title=British Library builds fire-proof home for 750m newspapers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20717391 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119021800/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20717391 |archive-date=19 January 2013 |access-date=16 July 2013 |publisher=BBC}} The Library also holds the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections (APAC) which include the India Office Records and materials in the languages of Asia and of north and north-east Africa.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/apac/apacoll/apac.html|title=Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections|publisher=British Library|access-date=8 February 2010|archive-date=27 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227114835/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/apac/apacoll/apac.html|url-status=live}}

The three foundation collections are those which were brought together to form the initial manuscript holdings of the British Museum in 1753:{{cite book |last=Nickson |first=M.A.E. |title=The British Library: Guide to the catalogues and indexes of the Department of Manuscripts |publisher=British Library |year=1998 |isbn=0712306609 |edition=3rd |place=London |page=4}}

• Cotton manuscripts
• Harley manuscripts
• Sloane manuscripts

Other "named" collections of manuscripts include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Arundel Manuscripts
• Egerton manuscripts
• King's manuscripts
• Lansdowne manuscripts
• Royal manuscripts
• Stefan Zweig Collection
• Stowe manuscripts
• Yates Thompson manuscripts

Other collections, not necessarily manuscripts:

• Lawrence Durrell Collection

{{main|Additional manuscripts}}

The Additional Manuscripts series covers manuscripts that are not part of the named collections, and contains all other manuscripts donated, purchased or bequeathed to the Library since 1756. The numbering begins at 4101, as the series was initially regarded as a continuation of the collection of Sloane manuscripts, which are numbered 1 to 4100.{{cite web |title=Manuscripts: Ongoing collections |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/manuscripts/ongoingcoll/ongoingcollections.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818082111/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/manuscripts/ongoingcoll/ongoingcollections.html |archive-date=18 August 2018 |access-date=14 January 2011 |publisher=British Library}}

File:British Library Newspapers.JPG]]

The Library holds an almost complete collection of British and Irish newspapers since 1840. This is partly because of the legal deposit legislation of 1869, which required newspapers to supply a copy of each edition of a newspaper to the library. London editions of national daily and Sunday newspapers are complete back to 1801. In total, the collection consists of 660,000 bound volumes and 370,000 reels of microfilm containing tens of millions of newspapers with 52,000 titles on {{convert|45|km|mi|abbr=on}} of shelves. From earlier dates, the collections include the Thomason Tracts, comprising 7,200 seventeenth-century newspapers,{{cite web |title=Thomason Tracts |url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/thomason-tracts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424011934/https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/thomason-tracts |archive-date=24 April 2022 |access-date=April 23, 2022 |website=British Library}} and the Burney Collection, featuring nearly 1 million pages of newspapers from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.{{cite web |title=The Burney Collection of 17th and 18th Century Newspapers |url=http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/52810 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903023424/http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/52810 |archive-date=3 September 2010 |access-date=28 January 2011 |publisher=Web.resourceshelf.com}} The section also holds extensive collections of non-British newspapers, in numerous languages.{{cite web |title=Newsroom Collection Reading Room at St Pancras - The British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/newsroom |website=The British Library |access-date=28 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328122930/https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/newsroom |archive-date=28 March 2023}}

The Newspapers section was based in Colindale in North London until 2013, when the buildings, which were considered to provide inadequate storage conditions and to be beyond improvement, were closed and sold for redevelopment.{{cite news |last=Cleaver |first=Alan |date=19 January 2011 |title=Farewell to history? |url=http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/01/19/farewell-to-history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125225356/http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/01/19/farewell-to-history/ |archive-date=25 January 2011 |access-date=28 January 2011 |work=Independent |location=London}}{{cite web |title=Newspaper Collection – Frequently Asked Questions for Readers |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/newspapermoves/newspaper-moves-faqs.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219010325/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/newspapermoves/newspaper-moves-faqs.pdf |archive-date=19 February 2018 |access-date=21 April 2014 |publisher=British Library}} The physical holdings are now divided between the sites at St Pancras (some high-use periodicals, and rare items such as the Thomason Tracts and Burney collections) and Boston Spa (the bulk of the collections, stored in a new purpose-built facility).

A significant and growing proportion of the collection is now made available to readers as surrogate facsimiles, either on microfilm, or, more recently, in digitised form. In 2010 a ten-year programme of digitisation of the newspaper archives with commercial partner DC Thomson subsidiary Brightsolid began,{{cite web |date=19 May 2010 |title=British Library digitises 40m newspaper pages to enable paid-for web access |url=http://www.documentmanagementnews.com/the-news/general-news/41-general-news/567-british-library-digitises-40m-newspaper-pages-to-enable-paid-for-web-access.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121023759/http://www.documentmanagementnews.com/the-news/general-news/41-general-news/567-british-library-digitises-40m-newspaper-pages-to-enable-paid-for-web-access.html |archive-date=21 January 2012 |access-date=28 January 2011 |publisher=Document Management News}}{{cite web |title=British Library and Brightsolid partnership to digitise up to 40 million pages of historic newspapers |url=http://www.brightsolid.com/news/recent-news/british-library-and-brightsolid-partnership-to-digitise-up-to-40-million-pages-of-historic-newspapers |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111040247/http://www.brightsolid.com/news/recent-news/british-library-and-brightsolid-partnership-to-digitise-up-to-40-million-pages-of-historic-newspapers |archive-date=11 January 2011 |access-date=28 January 2011 |publisher=Brightsolid}} and the British Newspaper Archive was launched in November 2011.{{cite news |date=29 November 2011 |title=British Newspaper Archive launched online |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15924466 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201173430/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15924466 |archive-date=1 December 2011 |access-date=5 December 2011 |work=BBC News}} A dedicated newspaper reading room opened at St Pancras in April 2014, including facilities for consulting microfilmed and digital materials, and, where no surrogate exists, hard-copy material retrieved from Boston Spa.{{cite news |date=29 April 2014 |title=British Library's newspaper archive receives £33m makeover |url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11178458.British_Library_s_newspaper_archive_receives___33m_makeover/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053249/http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11178458.British_Library_s_newspaper_archive_receives___33m_makeover/ |archive-date=8 August 2014 |access-date=20 June 2014 |work=York Press}}

The British Library makes a number of images of items within its collections available online. Its Online Gallery gives access to 30,000 images from various medieval books, together with a handful of exhibition-style items in a proprietary format, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels. This includes the facility to "turn the virtual pages" of a few documents, such as Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks.{{cite web |title=Explore the British Library |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003183424/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/index.html |archive-date=3 October 2009 |access-date=25 February 2010 |publisher=British Library}} Catalogue entries for many of the illuminated manuscript collections are available online, with selected images of pages or miniatures from a growing number of them,{{cite web |title=Catalogue of Illuminated manuscripts |url=http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301081526/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm |archive-date=1 March 2013 |access-date=27 February 2013 |publisher=Bl.uk}} and there is a database of significant bookbindings.{{cite web |title=Database of bookbindings |url=http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/bookbindings/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305051020/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/bookbindings/ |archive-date=5 March 2013 |access-date=27 February 2013 |publisher=Bl.uk}}

The British Library's commercial secure electronic delivery service was started in 2003 at a cost of £6 million. This offers more than 100 million items (including 280,000 journal titles, 50 million patents, 5 million reports, 476,000 US dissertations and 433,000 conference proceedings) for researchers and library patrons worldwide which were previously unavailable outside the Library because of copyright restrictions. In line with a government directive that the British Library must cover a percentage of its operating costs, a fee is charged to the user. However, this service is no longer profitable and has led to a series of restructures to try to prevent further losses.{{cite news |date=31 January 2007 |title=PCS strike: your reports |url=http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=10620#lonbl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326145751/http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=10620#lonbl |archive-date=26 March 2010 |access-date=12 April 2010 |work=Socialist Worker}}

When Google Books started, the British Library signed an agreement with Microsoft to digitise a number of books from the British Library for its Live Search Books project.{{cite news |last=Tran |first=Mark |date=4 November 2005 |title=Microsoft teams up with British Library to digitise books |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/nov/04/microsoft.books |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416210530/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/nov/04/microsoft.books |archive-date=16 April 2014 |access-date=12 April 2010 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media |location=London}} This material was only available to readers in the US, and closed in May 2008.{{cite news |last=Helft |first=Miguel |date=24 May 2008 |title=Microsoft Will Shut Down Book Search Program |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/technology/24soft.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424210000/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/technology/24soft.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin |archive-date=24 April 2009 |access-date=26 February 2010 |work=The New York Times}} The scanned books are currently available via the British Library catalogue or Amazon.{{Cite web |last=Goss |first=Patrick |date=23 February 2010 |title=Amazon seals British Library deal for free Kindle classics |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/other-devices/amazon-seals-british-library-deal-for-free-kindle-classics-672583 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729171622/https://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/other-devices/amazon-seals-british-library-deal-for-free-kindle-classics-672583 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |access-date=22 September 2020 |website=TechRadar}}

In October 2010 the British Library launched its Management and business studies portal. This website is designed to allow digital access to management research reports, consulting reports, working papers and articles.{{cite web |title=Management and business studies portal: About this site |url=http://www.mbsportal.bl.uk/about/index.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110222417/http://www.mbsportal.bl.uk/about/index.aspx |archive-date=10 November 2010 |access-date=3 March 2011 |publisher=British Library}}

In November 2011, four million newspaper pages from the 18th and 19th centuries were made available online as the British Newspaper Archive. The project planned to scan up to 40 million pages over the next 10 years. The archive is free to search, but there is a charge for accessing the pages themselves.{{cite news |date=29 November 2011 |title=British Library scans 18th and 19th-Century newspapers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15932683 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626212038/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15932683 |archive-date=26 June 2017 |access-date=20 June 2018 |work=BBC News}}

As of 2022, Explore the British Library is the latest iteration of the online catalogue.{{cite web |title=Catalogues and Collections |url=https://www.bl.uk/catalogues-and-collections/catalogues |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227015030/https://www.bl.uk/catalogues-and-collections/catalogues |archive-date=27 December 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2022 |website=British Library}} It contains nearly 57 million records and may be used to search, view and order items from the collections or search the contents of the Library's website. The Library's electronic collections include over 40,000 ejournals, 800 databases and other electronic resources.{{cite web |date=30 November 2003 |title=Electronic collections, British Library, 25 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-01 |url=http://www.bl.uk/eresources/main.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119202955/http://www.bl.uk/eresources/main.shtml |archive-date=19 January 2013 |access-date=27 February 2013 |publisher=Bl.uk}} A number of these are available for remote access to registered St Pancras Reader Pass holders.{{cite web |title=About Remote Eresources |url=https://www.bl.uk/help/about-remote-eresources |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129044617/https://www.bl.uk/help/about-remote-eresources |archive-date=29 January 2023}}

PhD theses are available via the E-Theses Online Service (EThOS).{{cite web |title=EThOS: E-theses Online Service |url=http://ethos.bl.uk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222084333/http://ethos.bl.uk/ |archive-date=22 February 2021 |access-date=7 November 2017 |website=ethos.bl.uk}}

{{main|British Library Philatelic Collections}}

File:Philatelic collections 1110902 1110905.jpg

File:British Library Gate Shadow.jpg and Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley){{Cite web |date=2021-06-16 |title=The designers behind the British Library gates |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2021/06/the-designers-behind-the-british-library-gates.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205123901/https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2021/06/the-designers-behind-the-british-library-gates.html |archive-date=5 December 2021 |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=British Library}}]]

The British Library Philatelic Collections are held at St Pancras. The collections were established in 1891 with the donation of the Tapling collection;{{cite web |title=The Tapling Collection |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/philatelic/philateliccollections/philateliccollectionsintroduction/philatelicintro.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329190938/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/philatelic/philateliccollections/philateliccollectionsintroduction/philatelicintro.html |archive-date=29 March 2010 |access-date=12 April 2010 |work=British Library}} they steadily developed and now comprise over 25 major collections and a number of smaller ones, encompassing a wide range of disciplines. The collections include postage and revenue stamps, postal stationery, essays, proofs, covers and entries, "cinderella stamp" material, specimen issues, airmails, some postal history materials, official and private posts, etc., for almost all countries and periods.{{Cite book |author1=David Beech |url=http://shop.bl.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/BritishLibrary/ISBN_9780712309530/353759 |title=Treasures in Focus – Stamps |author2=Paul Skinner |author3=Bobby Birchall |author4=Catherine Britton |publisher=British Library |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7123-0953-0 |access-date=16 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317061325/http://shop.bl.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/BritishLibrary/ISBN_9780712309530/353759 |archive-date=17 March 2012 |url-status=dead}} Approximately 80,000 items on 6,000 sheets may be viewed in 1,000 display frames; 2,400 sheets are from the Tapling Collection. All other material, which covers the whole world, is available to students and researchers.

File:Mechanical book handling system, British Library.jpg

File:Sitting on History (1995) by Bill Woodrow, British Library, London, UK - 20061031.jpg's 'Sitting on History' was purchased for the British Library by Carl Djerassi and Diane Middlebrook in 1997.
Sitting on History, with its ball and chain, refers to the book as the captor of information which we cannot escape.

The bust visible top left is Colin St. John Wilson RA by Celia Scott, 1998 a gift from the American Trust for the British Library. Sir Colin designed the British Library building.]]

The Library is open to everyone who has a genuine need to use its collections. Anyone with a permanent address who wishes to carry out research can apply for a Reader Pass; they are required to provide proof of signature and address.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/inrrooms/stp/register/howreg/howtoregister.html|title=How to register for a Reader Pass|publisher=British Library|access-date=8 February 2010|archive-date=8 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208233024/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/inrrooms/stp/register/howreg/howtoregister.html|url-status=live}}

Historically, only those wishing to use specialised material unavailable in other public or academic libraries would be given a Reader Pass. The Library has been criticised for admitting numbers of undergraduate students, who have access to their own university libraries, to the reading rooms. The Library replied that it has always admitted undergraduates as long as they have a legitimate personal, work-related or academic research purpose.{{cite web|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23479468-british-library-like-a-branch-of-starbooks-say-the-literati.do |title=British Library like a branch of Starbooks say the literati |last=Brierley |first=Danny |date=21 April 2008 |work=London Evening Standard|access-date=8 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605063706/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23479468-british-library-like-a-branch-of-starbooks-say-the-literati.do |archive-date=5 June 2011 }}

The majority of catalogue entries can be found on Explore the British Library, the Library's main catalogue, which is based on Primo.{{Cite web |url=http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/PrimoOverview |date=8 December 2011 |publisher=Exlibris Group |title=Over 2100 institutions worldwide are now using Primo! |access-date=April 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628163157/http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/PrimoOverview |archive-date=28 June 2015}} Other collections have their own catalogues, such as western manuscripts. There are eleven reading rooms at the London site and one in Yorkshire.{{cite web |title=Guides: What's currently available: In our Reading Rooms |url=https://bl.libguides.com/currently-available/introduction/in-our-reading-rooms |publisher=British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=4 December 2024}}

British Library Reader Pass holders are also able to view the Document Supply Collection in the Reading Room at the Library's site in Boston Spa in Yorkshire as well as the hard-copy newspaper collection from 29 September 2014. Now that access is available to legal deposit collection material, it is necessary for visitors to register as a Reader to use the Boston Spa Reading Room.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/notices/boston_spa_readingroom.html|title=Major changes for Readers using the Boston Spa Reading Room|access-date=25 September 2014|archive-date=20 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820044939/http://www.bl.uk/notices/boston_spa_readingroom.html|url-status=live}}

File:Newton by Eduardo Paolozzi 2003-03-10.jpg, after William Blake, by Eduardo Paolozzi, 1995]]

A number of books and manuscripts are on display to the public in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery which is open seven days a week at no charge. Some manuscripts in the exhibition include Beowulf, the Lindisfarne Gospels and St Cuthbert Gospel, a Gutenberg Bible, Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (King Arthur), Captain Cook's journal, Jane Austen's History of England, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures Under Ground, Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, Charles Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway and a room devoted solely to Magna Carta, as well as several Qur'ans and Asian items.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/whatson/permgall/treasures/|title=Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library|publisher=British Library|access-date=8 February 2010|archive-date=8 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408152115/http://www.bl.uk/whatson/permgall/treasures/|url-status=live}}

In addition to the permanent exhibition, there are frequent thematic exhibitions which have covered maps,[http://www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/ Magnificent Maps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121104251/http://www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/ |date=21 January 2011 }} on British Library website sacred texts,[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/sacred/homepage.html Sacred] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131140146/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/sacred/homepage.html |date=31 January 2011 }} on British Library website history of the English language,{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/evolvingenglish/|title=Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices|publisher=British Library|access-date=6 February 2011|archive-date=31 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131141419/http://www.bl.uk/evolvingenglish/|url-status=live}} and law, including a celebration of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/events/magna-carta--law-liberty-legacy|title=Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy|work=The British Library|access-date=30 March 2015|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232538/http://www.bl.uk/events/magna-carta--law-liberty-legacy|url-status=live}}

In May 2005, the British Library received a grant of £1 million from the London Development Agency to change two of its reading rooms into the Business & IP Centre. The centre was opened in March 2006.{{cite news |last=Chadwick |first=Gareth |title=The British Library: An excellent business support centre |date=5 June 2007 |newspaper=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sme/the-british-library-an-excellent-business-support-centre-451812.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405065355/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sme/the-british-library-an-excellent-business-support-centre-451812.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2008|quote=The pilot was such a success that in May 2005 the London Development Agency, the Mayor of London's agency for business and jobs, announced a £1m funding package to turn the project into a permanent resource. The centre's facilities were enlarged and upgraded to include state-of-the-art meeting rooms, a networking area and wireless internet access. A team of information experts is on hand to help people find the information they need. The new centre re-launched in March 2006. In the 14 months since, it has welcomed more than 25,000 people through its doors.}} It holds a comprehensive collection of business and intellectual property (IP) material and is part of the UK's National Network of Business and IP Centres.{{cite web |title=Business & IP Centre at St Pancras |url=https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/business-and-ip-centre |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129044617/https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/business-and-ip-centre |archive-date=29 January 2023}}

The collection is divided up into four main information areas: market research, company information, trade directories, and journals. It is free of charge in hard copy and online via approximately 30 subscription databases. Registered readers can access the collection and the databases.{{cite web|url=http://www.startups.co.uk/what-s-on-offer-at-the-british-library-business-and-ip-centre.html |title=What's on offer at the British Library Business & IP Centre? |publisher=Startups |access-date=28 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929010654/http://www.startups.co.uk/what-s-on-offer-at-the-british-library-business-and-ip-centre.html |archive-date=29 September 2011 }} Staff are trained to guide small and medium enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs to use the full range of resources.

There are over 50 million patent specifications from 40 countries in a collection dating back to 1855. The collection also includes official gazettes on patents, trade marks and Registered Design; law reports and other material on litigation; and information on copyright. This is available in hard copy and via online databases.{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/bipc/aboutus/faq/index.html |title=British Library Business & IP Centre in London | Frequently asked questions |publisher=British Library |date=30 November 2003 |access-date=28 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216143804/http://www.bl.uk/bipc/aboutus/faq/index.html |archive-date=16 February 2011 }}

In 2018, a Human Lending Library service was established in the Business & IP Centre, allowing social entrepreneurs to receive an hour's mentoring from a high-profile business professional.{{cite web|url=https://therooftop.news/2018/10/26/human-lending-library-opens-at-the-british-library/|title=Human Lending Library Opens at the British Library / The Rooftop|website=therooftop.news|date=26 October 2018|access-date=18 September 2019|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406161318/https://therooftop.news/2018/10/26/human-lending-library-opens-at-the-british-library/|url-status=live}} This service is run in partnership with Expert Impact.{{cite web |title=Meet our delivery partner: Expert Impact |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/business/2020/06/meet-our-delivery-partner-expert-impact-1.html |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=1 June 2020}}

As part of its establishment in 1973, the British Library absorbed the National Lending Library for Science and Technology (NLL), based near Boston Spa in Yorkshire, which had been established in 1961. Before this, the site had housed a World War II Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Thorp Arch, which closed in 1957. When the NLL became part of the British Library in 1973 it changed its name to the British Library Lending Division, in 1985 it was renamed as the British Library Document Supply Centre and is now known as the British Library Document Supply Service, often abbreviated as BLDSS.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/atyourdesk/docsupply/about/history/index.html|title=British Library document supply history|publisher=British Library|access-date=17 July 2013|archive-date=6 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606135746/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/atyourdesk/docsupply/about/history/index.html|url-status=live}}

BLDSS now holds 87.5 million items, including 296,000 international journal titles, 400,000 conference proceedings, 3 million monographs, 5 million official publications, and 500,000 UK and North American theses and dissertations. 12.5 million articles in the Document Supply Collection are held electronically and can be downloaded immediately.Richard Ebdon, 'The World's One-Stop-Shop for Information Needs', Pipeline: The Journal of the Pharmaceutical Information & Pharmocovigilance Association, 40 (March 2013), pp. 12–13

The collection supports research and development in UK, overseas and international industry, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. BLDSS also provides material to Higher Education institutions, students and staff and members of the public, who can order items through their public library or through the Library's BL Document Supply Service (BLDSS).{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/atyourdesk/docsupply/industryspecificinfo/publisher/docsupply|title=Document Supply Information for Publishers|publisher=British Library|access-date=17 July 2013|archive-date=17 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417012737/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/atyourdesk/docsupply/industryspecificinfo/publisher/docsupply/|url-status=live}}

In April 2013, BLDSS launched its new online ordering and tracking system, which enables customers to search available items, view detailed availability, pricing and delivery time information, place and track orders, and manage account preferences online.{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/atyourdesk/docsupply/help/customerupdates/index.html#BLDSS:OnlineOrderinglaunchedApril2013|title=Document Supply News & Customer Updates|publisher=British Library|access-date=17 July 2013|archive-date=15 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715235317/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/atyourdesk/docsupply/help/customerupdates/index.html#BLDSS:OnlineOrderinglaunchedApril2013|url-status=live}}

{{main|British Library Sound Archive}}

File:BL Sound Archive tapes-2.jpg

The British Library Sound Archive holds more than a million discs and 185,000 tapes.{{cite news |title=UK music archive in decay warning |date=25 September 2006 |newspaper=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5378118.stm |access-date=28 January 2011 |archive-date=27 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227140420/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5378118.stm |url-status=live }} The collections come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound, from music, drama and literature to oral history and wildlife sounds, stretching back over more than 100 years.{{cite web |title=Sound - The British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/subjects/sound |publisher=The British Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608185214/https://www.bl.uk/subjects/sound |archive-date=8 June 2023}}

It is possible to listen to recordings from the collection in selected Reading Rooms in the Library through their SoundServer{{cite web |url=http://www.nfsa.gov.au/blog/2010/07/30/british-library-sound-archive-staff-exchange-program-week-2/ |title=British Library Sound Archive staff exchange program |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive, Australia |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=28 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307200059/http://nfsa.gov.au/blog/2010/07/30/british-library-sound-archive-staff-exchange-program-week-2/ |archive-date=7 March 2011 }} and Listening and Viewing Service, which is based in the Rare Books & Music Reading Room.{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/work+%26+daily+life/art59605 |title=British Library Acquires Major Sound Collection of Welsh Dialects |publisher=Culture24 |date=22 July 2008 |access-date=28 January 2011 |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514134821/http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/work+%26+daily+life/art59605 |url-status=dead }}

In 2006, the Library launched a new online resource, British Library Sounds, which makes 50,000 of the Sound Archive's recordings available online.{{cite web |url=http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/digitisation/blsoundarchive.aspx |title=British Library archival sound recordings project |publisher=JISC |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=28 January 2011 |archive-date=5 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105153245/http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/digitisation/blsoundarchive.aspx |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=About British Library Sounds|url=http://sounds.bl.uk/Information/About/|website=British Library|access-date=12 April 2017|archive-date=27 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327113903/http://sounds.bl.uk/Information/About/|url-status=live}}

Launched in October 2012, the British Library's moving image services provide access to nearly a million sound and moving image items onsite, supported by data for over 20 million sound and moving image recordings.{{cite web |url=http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/movingimage/2012/10/new-moving-image-service-at-the-british-library.html |title=New moving image service at the British Library |publisher=British Library, Moving Image Blog |date=1 October 2012 |access-date=5 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313095406/http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/movingimage/2012/10/new-moving-image-service-at-the-british-library.html |archive-date=13 March 2013 }} The three services, which for copyright reasons can only be accessed from terminals within the Reading Rooms at St Pancras or Boston Spa, are:

• BBC Pilot/Redux: A collaboration with BBC Research & Development to mirror its archive which has, since June 2007, been recording 24/7 of all of the BBC's national and some regional broadcast output. BBC Pilot includes 2.2 million catalogue records and 225,000 playable programmes, but unlike BBC Redux it does not include any broadcasts beyond 2011.{{cn|date=October 2024}} BBC Redux ceased operations in 2022.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Finternet%2Fentries%2F491df53c-c2ab-42b5-abed-b02dc40e9442 BBC website, The future of searching the past, article by Mary McCarthy dated 26 May 2022]
• Broadcast News: Since May 2010, the British Library has been making off-air recordings of daily TV and radio news broadcasts from seventeen channels, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, Al-Jazeera English, NHK World, CNN, France 24, Bloomberg, Russia Today and China's CCTV News. Many of the programs come with subtitles, which can be electronically searched, greatly enhancing the value of the collection as a research tool.{{cn|date=October 2024}}
• Television & Radio Index for Learning & Teaching (TRILT): Produced by the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC), TRILT is a database of all UK television and radio broadcasts since 2001 (and selectively back to 1995). Its 16 million records, growing by a million per year, cover every channel, broadcast and repeat.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The British Library sponsors or co-sponsors many projects of national and international significance. These include:

• International Dunhuang Project{{cite web |title=Catalogues |url=https://www.bl.uk/catalogues-and-collections/catalogues |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012100643/https://www.bl.uk/catalogues-and-collections/catalogues |archive-date=12 October 2023}}
• Theatre Archive Project{{cite web |title=Theatre Archive Project - Arts, literature and performance |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/Arts-literature-and-performance/Theatre-Archive-Project |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129162847/https://sounds.bl.uk/Arts-literature-and-performance/Theatre-Archive-Project |archive-date=29 January 2023}}
• Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
• DataCite, an international not-for-profit organisation which aims to improve data citation{{cite web |last1=Sarah |first1=Stewart |title=Introduction to research data, data services and DataCite at the British Library (and beyond) |url=https://bl.iro.bl.uk/concern/generic_works/3ca87303-78b1-4233-b806-ff187c58c328 |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024 |doi=10.23636/1180 |date=2020}}
• Endangered Archives Programme{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Endangered Archives Programme |url=https://eap.bl.uk/ |website=Endangered Archives Programme |publisher=The British Library |access-date=29 December 2024}}

{{Main category|Employees of the British Library}}

British Library employees undertake a wide variety of roles including curatorial, business and technology. Curatorial roles include or have included librarians, curators, digital preservationists, archivists and keepers.{{cite web |url = https://www.bl.uk/people/experts |title = Experts |website = www.bl.uk |publisher = The British Library |access-date = 14 June 2018 |archive-date = 30 May 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200530111227/https://www.bl.uk/people/experts |url-status = live }} In 2001 the senior management team was established and consisted of Lynne Brindley (chief executive), Ian Millar (director of finance and corporate resources), Natalie Ceeney (director of operations and services), Jill Finney (director of strategic marketing and communications) and Clive Field (director of scholarship and collections). This was so the problems of a complex structure, a mega hybrid library, global brand and investment in digital preservation could be managed betterThe Library Association Record; October 2001; vol. 103 (10), pp. 612–615.

• 1973–1984: Sir Harry Hookway, first Chief Executive{{cite news |title=The scientist who has become Britain's "Mr Library" |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/784791659/?match=1&terms=Harry%20Hookway |access-date=29 December 2024 |work=The Birmingham Post |date=26 January 1973}}{{cite news |title=New Chief for British Library |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/750935044/?match=1&terms=Harry%20Hookway |access-date=29 December 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=13 February 1984}}
• 1984–1991: Kenneth Cooper{{cite news |title=Court Circular |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/751461280/?match=1&terms=%22Kenneth%20Cooper%22%20%22British%20Library%22 |access-date=29 December 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=28 June 1991}}
• 1991–2000: Dr Brian Lang{{cite web |title=Public appointment: member appointments extended on the Board of National Museums Scotland (NMS) |url=https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-appointments-member-appointments-extended-on-the-board-of-national-museums-scotland-nms/ |website=www.gov.scot |access-date=29 December 2024 |language=en}}
• 2000–2012: Dame Lynne Brindley{{cite journal |last1=Stephens |first1=Andy |title=Lynne Brindley and the British Library 2000–2012 |journal=Alexandria |date=1 December 2012 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=73–87 |doi=10.7227/ALX.23.3.12 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.7227/ALX.23.3.12 |access-date=29 December 2024 |language=en |issn=0955-7490}}
• 2012–2025: Sir Roly Keating{{cite web |last1=Atkinson |first1=Rebecca |title=British Library chief executive Roly Keating to step down |url=https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2024/04/british-library-chief-executive-roly-keating-to-step-down/# |website=Museums Association |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=16 April 2024}}{{Cite web |title=Rebecca Lawrence appointed as new Chief Executive of the British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/press/rebecca-lawrence-appointed-as-new-chief-executive-of-the-british-library/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=The British Library |language=en}}
• From 2025: Rebecca Lawrence

• 2016–2018: Caroline Brazier, first Chief Librarian, worked at the library 2002–2018{{cite web |title=Parting words from our Chief Librarian |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2018/06/parting-words-from-our-chief-librarian.html |website=British Library - Knowledge Matters Blog |access-date=9 January 2024 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131195443/https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2018/06/parting-words-from-our-chief-librarian.html |url-status=live }}
• 2018–present: Liz Jolly[https://www.thebookseller.com/news/jolly-succeed-brazier-bl-chief-librarian-790706 "Jolly to succeed Brazier as BL's chief librarian"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234200/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/jolly-succeed-brazier-bl-chief-librarian-790706 |date=13 June 2018 }}, 23 May 2018 by Benedicte Page, The Bookseller

• British Library of Political and Economic Science, the main library of the LSE
• British literature
• Books in the United Kingdom
• The National Archives (United Kingdom), an amalgamation of the Public Record Office, the Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty's Stationery Office

{{Reflist

|refs =

{{cite news |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33733846 |title = British Library becomes Grade I listed building |date = 1 August 2015 |work = BBC News |access-date = 1 August 2015 |archive-date = 1 August 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150801150551/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33733846 |url-status = live }}

}}

• Barker, Nicolas (1989) Treasures of the British Library; compiled by Nicolas Barker and the curatorial staff of the British Library. New York: Harry N. Abrams {{ISBN|0-8109-1653-3}}
• Day, Alan (1998). Inside the British Library. London: Library Association. {{ISBN|1856042804}}.
• Francis, Sir Frank, ed. (1971) Treasures of the British Museum. 360 pp. London: Thames & Hudson; ch. 6: manuscripts, by T. S, Patties; ch. 9: oriental printed books and manuscripts, by A. Gaur; ch. 12: printed books, by H. M. Nixon
• Harris, Phil (1998). A History of the British Museum Library, 1753–1973. London: British Library. {{ISBN|0712345620}}.
• Howard, Philip (2008). The British Library, a Treasure of Knowledge. London: Scala. {{ISBN|978-1857593754}}.
• Leapman, Michael (2012). The Book of the British Library. London: British Library. {{ISBN|978-0712358378}}.
• Mandelbrote, Giles, and Barry Taylor (2009). Libraries Within the Library: The Origins of the British Library's Printed Collections. London: British Library. {{ISBN|978-0712350358}}.
• Proctor, Robert (2010). A Critical Edition of the Private Diaries of Robert Proctor: The Life of a Librarian at the British Museum, edited by J. H. Bowman. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. {{ISBN|0773436340}}.
• {{cite book |first=Berry |last=Ritchie |title=The Good Builder: The John Laing Story |publisher=James & James |year=1997 |isbn=978-1848845589}}
• Wilson, Colin St. John (1998). The Design and Construction of the British Library. London: British Library. {{ISBN|0712306587}}.

• {{Official website}}
• [https://imagesonline.bl.uk/ British Library Images Online]
• [http://explore.bl.uk/ Explore the British Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716220809/http://explore.bl.uk/ |date=16 July 2020 }} (main catalogue; includes newspapers)
• [https://imagesonline.bl.uk/?service=page&action=show_page&name=kings-page&language=en The King's Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324070820/https://imagesonline.bl.uk/?service=page&action=show_page&name=kings-page&language=en |date=24 March 2012 }} contained within The British Library
• [http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/hightours/diamsutra/ The World's Earliest Dated Printed Book] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603032016/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/hightours/diamsutra/ |date=3 June 2010 }}
• [http://www.bl.uk/bipc The Business & IP Centre homepage]
• [http://www.bl.uk/learning/ British Library Learning homepage]
• [http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/ British Library newspapers 1800–1900 online]
• [https://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/british-library British Library building photos]
• [http://www.bl.uk/timeline Timelines: sources from history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201134618/http://www.bl.uk/timeline |date=1 February 2010 }}, an interactive history timeline that explores collection items chronologically, from medieval times to the present day
• {{EW charity|1148608|The British Library Trust}}
• {{citation |title=British Library Journal |journal=Electronic British Library Journal |issn=1478-0259 |url=http://www.bl.uk/eblj |access-date=1 December 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217042310/http://www.bl.uk/eblj/ |url-status=dead }} 1975– . {{free access}}

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