By Emily Hagy

The British Library

The first ever national library was created as a part of the British Museum in the year 1753. This original national library, created to store and care for historical manuscripts and documents, later transformed and developed into what is now The British Library, arguably the largest national library in the world in terms of catalogued items and housed documents. This is why we believe The British Library to be a great choice in representing Europe’s National Libraries on our site.

Who Runs The Library and What is it’s Mission?
The British Library Board is a public group of individuals set to organize the management of the United Kingdom’s national library under the direction of The British Library Act. The British Library Act of 1972 demands that the library must be accessible to the public and available for reference, research, and retrieval of information in technology, sciences, and the humanities.
On the library’s official page they state their mission “is to make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone, for research, inspiration, and enjoyment.” (The British Library)

Why The British Library Best Represents Europe’s National Libraries
The British Library is a prime example of what a national library is meant to be, and showcases some of the best of its country and the continent of Europe. While the library itself currently stores over 170 million materials, they are consistently acquiring more materials every day.

The Sir John Ritblat Treasures gallery displays some of the most significant literary manuscripts and historical documents known to man—such as original manuscripts from Jane Austen, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. Galleries such as this one show the ways in which The British Library is not just preserving its country’s history but showcasing it to the public on a daily basis and keeping the magic of each significant work alive today.

They have more than one Reading Room accessible to the public, and are used by more than 15,000 students on a day to day basis. These rooms are a prime example of how the library is catering to its community, and although their materials aren’t out on lend they are still usable by the public in academic and personal interests.

The library’s material storage rooms are housed below ground and stack up to the equivalent of an eight-story building, while the environment in each room is meticulously controlled for the best care for each individual collection of rare items. All of these points cumulate to a gorgeous presentation on how The British Library is a prime example of the way a national library should function: preserving history, serving the public, and representing its culture in a celebratory light.

References

Abrahams, Luke. (2016 October). 12 awesome things you probably didn’t know about the British Library. Time Out. Retrieved from https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/12-awesome-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-british-library-101116

About us. The British Library. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/about-us/governance