Back British Library ALS المكتبة البريطانية Arabic المكتبه البريطانيه ARZ The British Library AST Britaniya Milli Kitabxanası Azerbaijani Британия китапханаһы Bashkir Брытанская бібліятэка Byelorussian Брытанская бібліятэка BE-X-OLD Британска библиотека Bulgarian ব্রিটিশ গ্রন্থাগার Bengali/Bangla
| British Library | |
|---|---|
 | |
 British Library building at St Pancras from the piazza | |
| 51°31′46″N 0°07′37″W / 51.52944°N 0.12694°W | |
| Location | 96 Euston Road London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom |
| Type | National library |
| Established | 1 July 1973 |
| Architect(s) | Colin St John Wilson Mary Jane Long |
| Branches | 1 (Boston Spa, West Yorkshire) |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings and manuscripts |
| Size | 170–200 million+[1][2][3][4] items 13,950,000 books[5] |
| Legal deposit | Yes, provided in law by:
|
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Open to anyone with a need to use the collections and services |
| Other information | |
| Budget | £142 million[5] |
| Director | Sir Roly Keating (chief executive, since 12 September 2012) |
| Website | bl.uk |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | The British Library, piazza, boundary wall and railings to Ossulston Street, Euston Road and Midland Road |
| Designated | 31 July 2015 |
| Reference no. | 1426345[6] |
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 UK. 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]
- ^ a b Wight, Colin. "Facts and figures". bl.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ a b "BL Accounts 2019" (PDF). bl.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b "BL Exhibition Notes". bl.uk. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ^ a b "How Big is the UK Web Archive?". bl.uk. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Using the British Library" Archived 23 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine. British Library. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Using the British Library". British Library. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
- ^ "The British Library; Explore the world's knowledge". British Library. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- ^ The British Library Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11, p. 31 Archived 24 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
listedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).