What is the British Library?

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It was established through the British Library Act of 1972, becoming officially operational on July 1, 1973. The library's vast holdings include over 170 million items, such as printed and electronic books, periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts. Its special collections incorporate the Oriental and India Office Collections, the National Sound Archive, printed music, maps, and philatelic materials. The British Library was formed from the British Museum library and other collections. In 1997–98, a new complex was opened in London near St. Pancras Station to consolidate its extensive collections.

Why is the British Library important?

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's most important libraries. Established in 1973, it combined holdings from the British Museum library and other collections. Its importance lies in its vast collection of over 170 million items, including books, manuscripts, periodicals, sound recordings, and other materials. As a legal deposit library, it is entitled to receive a copy of every publication produced in the UK, ensuring a comprehensive record of the nation's literature. The British Library also provides access to its collections and services to researchers, businesses, and the public, promoting literacy and supporting research and innovation.

How do people use or access the British Library's resources?

The British Library offers access to over 170 million items, including printed and electronic books, periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts. As a national library, it has a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. The library's collections also include the Oriental and India Office Collections, the National Sound Archive, printed music, maps, and philatelic materials. The British Library Act of 1972 formed the British Library. In 1997–98, a new complex was opened in London near St. Pancras Station to unify its vast collections. The library also has a dedicated reading room, the Newsroom, at St. Pancras library, which opened in April 2014.

What are some famous or unique items found in the British Library?

The British Library holds over 170 million items, including rare manuscripts and 13 million printed and electronic books . Unique items include: * A paper fragment dated to about 137 CE * The Cotton and Harley collections * Incunabula , books printed in the earliest days of typography * The Old Royal Library, books collected by the kings of England from Edward IV to George II * The library also has printed music, a map library, and philatelic materials.

British Library

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Entrance to the British Library in London, featuring a large brick archway with the name The British Library engraved above the doorway. People are walking near the entrance.

Interior of the British Museum library in London, showing tall, curved bookshelves filled with books beneath a domed ceiling with large windows and visitors at reading tables.

At a Glance

British Library summary

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Date:: July 1, 1973 - present

Related People:: Richard Garnett

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British Library

library, United Kingdom

Also known as: BL

Written and fact-checked by

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Last updated

Oct. 27, 2026 •History

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Top Questions

What is the British Library?
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It was established through the British Library Act of 1972, becoming officially operational on July 1, 1973.

The library's vast holdings include over 170 million items, such as printed and electronic books, periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts. Its special collections incorporate the Oriental and India Office Collections, the National Sound Archive, printed music, maps, and philatelic materials.

The British Library was formed from the British Museum library and other collections. In 1997–98, a new complex was opened in London near St. Pancras Station to consolidate its extensive collections.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where is the British Library located?
The British Library, the national library of Great Britain, was formed in 1973. In 1997–98, a new complex was opened in London near St. Pancras Station to unify its vast collections.

The British Library holds more than 170 million items, including over 13 million printed and electronic books, as well as hundreds of thousands of periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts. The library's special collections include the Oriental and India Office Collections, the National Sound Archive, printed music, a map library, and philatelic materials.
2 Britannica Sources
1. British Library
2. library: The British Library
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why is the British Library important?
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's most important libraries. Established in 1973, it combined holdings from the British Museum library and other collections.

Its importance lies in its vast collection of over 170 million items, including books, manuscripts, periodicals, sound recordings, and other materials. As a legal deposit library, it is entitled to receive a copy of every publication produced in the UK, ensuring a comprehensive record of the nation's literature. The British Library also provides access to its collections and services to researchers, businesses, and the public, promoting literacy and supporting research and innovation.
2 Britannica Sources
1. British Library
2. library: The British Library
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What kinds of collections does the British Library have?
The British Library, the national library of Great Britain, holds over 170 million items, including over 13 million printed and electronic books, hundreds of thousands of periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts.

Its special collections include the Oriental and India Office Collections, transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1982, and the National Sound Archive, formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound, incorporated into the library in 1983. The library also has printed music, a map library, and philatelic materials.

The British Library was formed by the British Library Act of 1972 and organized by July 1, 1973. The British Museum library was founded in 1753 on the basis of collections from Sir Hans Sloane; Edward and Robert Harley, earls of Oxford; and Sir Robert Cotton.
2 Britannica Sources
1. British Library
2. library: The British Library
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do people use or access the British Library's resources?
The British Library offers access to over 170 million items, including printed and electronic books, periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts.

As a national library, it has a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. The library's collections also include the Oriental and India Office Collections, the National Sound Archive, printed music, maps, and philatelic materials.

The British Library Act of 1972 formed the British Library. In 1997–98, a new complex was opened in London near St. Pancras Station to unify its vast collections. The library also has a dedicated reading room, the Newsroom, at St. Pancras library, which opened in April 2014.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some famous or unique items found in the British Library?
The British Library holds over 170 million items, including rare manuscripts and 13 million printed and electronic books.

Unique items include:
* A paper fragment dated to about 137 CE
* The Cotton and Harley collections
* Incunabula, books printed in the earliest days of typography
* The Old Royal Library, books collected by the kings of England from Edward IV to George II
* The library also has printed music, a map library, and philatelic materials.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

British Library, national library of Great Britain, formed by the British Library Act (1972) and organized by July 1, 1973. For much of the 20th century its holdings were divided among the British Museum library (with some 12 million volumes) and several other buildings, but in 1997–98 a new complex was opened in London near St. Pancras Station in order to unify its vast collections. The British Library holds more than 170 million items, including over 13 million printed and electronic books as well as hundreds of thousands of periodicals, microfilms, and rare manuscripts. Its special offerings include the Oriental and India Office Collections (transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1982), the National Sound Archive (formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound, incorporated into the library in 1983), printed music, a map library, and philatelic materials.

The British Museum library was long housed in the main building of the British Museum, in Bloomsbury, London. The museum (with its library) was founded in 1753 on the basis of the collections of Sir Hans Sloane; Edward and Robert Harley, earls of Oxford; and Sir Robert Cotton. In 1757 George II presented to the library what is now known as the Old Royal Library (books collected by the kings of England from Edward IV to George II), which brought with it the right to a free copy of all books published in the United Kingdom. The museum library grew to become one of the world’s largest and finest with the addition of the second royal library, that of George III, which was presented by George IV in 1823. The centrepiece of the British Museum library was the huge round dome-ceilinged Reading Room, which was designed by Sydney Smirke in association with the librarian Anthony Panizzi and completed by 1857. Karl Marx, Virginia Woolf, and many other illustrious writers and thinkers, both British and foreign, did their work in that room.

As the library holdings grew in the 20th century, additional space was acquired in Bloomsbury, and annexes were opened at Bayswater and other London locations. Many of the newspaper collections were moved to Colindale (now in the borough of Barnet in northern London), where a newspaper repository (1905) was replaced by the full-service British Museum Newspaper Library (1932). During the air raids of World War II, some 225,000 volumes were destroyed at the British Museum, and tens of thousands of newspapers were burned at Colindale. Repairs to damaged buildings were carried out in the 1950s and ’60s. In 1962 the National Lending Library for Science and Technology was established at Boston Spa, Yorkshire. The Newspaper Library became part of the British Library in 1973. In 2013 the Colindale library was closed, and its holdings were relocated to a new state-of-the-art storage facility at Boston Spa. In April 2014 a dedicated reading room, the Newsroom, opened at St. Pancras library. It provided access to microfilm and digital newspapers and to radio, television, and Internet-derived news, as well as the opportunity to request the transfer of print copies of specific newspapers, periodicals, and journals from the Boston Spa facility.

British Library

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