British Library in London

The British Library in St.Pancras, London is an institution well known to researchers around the world, and is where I have been hanging around for the last few days. The library is home to around 150 million items, and quite amazingly for me it has all the Swedish language resources that I need so that I can take an impromtu holiday to England and still feel like I can work.

The library is a copyright library, which means that it receives copies of all books printed in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The principle of copyright libraries can be traced as far back as 1610, but an Act of Parliament in 1911 established that six libraries in the UK and Ireland would hold this position: The British Library; The Bodleian, Oxford; The University Library, Cambridge; Trinity College Library, Dublin; and the National libraries in Scotland and Wales. The British Library as an entity however is much more recent, and became as an institution independent of the British Museum through the British libraries act in 1973, and moved to it's current location in 1997.

History aside, the library seems today to not only be a library to an extent but also a museum and a general centre for culture. It will often house a number of exhibitions. At the moment there is an exhibition on about Science-Fiction, the Worlds of Mervyn Peake and the Street Markets of London- Walter Joseph. The library also often hosts conferences and talks. Thus, it should not only be seen as a place where stuffy academics and students sit with their books but also one for the whole public.

I am incredibly biased as I think the BL is one of the greatest places on earth. However, I honestly believe that it is worth a visit if you are visiting London as it is as much a part of British culture as the Museums on Exhibition Road are or the Art Galleries. It is an argument against those that believe that libraries should only be libraries, as it actively pursues engagement with the public in their culture, not just serving as a repository for books. Look it up here: