The British Library

This centuries-old institution holds one of the most extensive collections of global knowledge

Although the modern British Library was established as recently as 1973, its origins stretch back as far as the 18th century. Its original collection was bequeathed to the nation for the sum of £20,000 by Sir Hans Sloane, a physician who had collected over 71,000 artefacts including manuscripts, books and coins during his lifetime. His collection was opened in 1753 in Montagu House, Bloomsbury as part of the British Museum Library, the present site of the British Museum.

In 1662 the statute of Legal Deposit was passed in England and Wales, requiring a copy of every printed publication to be given to the British Museum Library (and five other legal deposit libraries in the UK). In 1710 this statute was extended to include the whole of the UK.

In May 1857 the iconic Reading Room was opened, allowing members of the public access to the library’s treasures. However, passes were soon introduced, admitting only approved members.

In the latter part of the 19th century the library’s full catalogue had reached its 2,250th volume, each one of them handwritten. This was transferred into 437 printed parts over the course of around 25 years. By this time the full collection counted some 2 million printed titles.

In its new location on Euston Road, the modern British Library now houses items in most known languages and continues to house and collect not only all print material produced in the UK and Ireland but also a wide range of music and film recordings.

Over 400,000 people use the library’s reading rooms each year

Many famous writers and politicians studied in the British Museum’s Reading Room, including Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The current British Library was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in June 1998