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Museum Details

British Library, London

British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
England

Collection details
World Cultures
Social History
Science and Technology
Religion
Personalities
Music
Literature
Decorative and Applied Art
Archives

Facilities

Food: yes
Shop: yes
Guided tours: yes
Baby changing facilities: yes
Library: yes
Study area: yes
Wheelchair access: yes
Visual disability facilities: yes
Hearing disability facilities: yes

Contact details
Visitor Services (Tel) : 020 7412 7332
Events Box Office (Tel) : 01937 546546
Visitor Information (fax) (Fax) : 020 7412 7340
Visitor Enquiries : visitor-services@bl.uk
Website : www.bl.uk

Open
Mon, Wed-Fri 0930-1800
Tues 0930-2000
Sat 0930-1700
Sun and English Public Holidays 1100-1700

Closed
24 - 28 December 2007
1 January 2007
Closing at 17.00 23 and 29 - 31 December 2007

Admission charges
Free exhibitions

Description
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the Worlds greatest libraries. Set up in 1973, with galleries formerly in the British Museum building, it moved to its spectacular flagship new home at St Pancras in Central London in 1997.
The John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library, PACCAR Gallery of Living Words and the Workshop of Words, Sound and Images offer permanent displays and a changing programme of special thematic exhibitions. We also have the best permanent display of stamps and philately in the world. The Kings Library, housed in a 17-metre glass-walled tower at the heart of the building, plus a number of major works of art can be seen by all visitors. The Library also offers a wide programme of events - including talks, music and discussions, all developing themes and ideas associated with the collections.

Collections description
The British Library is custodian of the most important research collection in the world, spanning almost 3,000 years and from every continent. This covers books, journals, manuscripts, stamps, patents, sound recordings, printed music and maps.
The John Ritblat Gallery is home to a permanent exhibition of over 200 of the Library's most significant items. These include Codex Sinaiticus (c. 350), Magna Carta (1215), the Gutenberg Bible (1455), Shakespeare's First Folio (1623) - as well as religious, literary, historical and musical works in the handwriting of Leonardo da Vinci, Lord Nelson, Lewis Carroll, Handel, Sir Paul McCartney and many others. The award-winning Turning the Pages was developed by the Library and uses high quality digitised images to simulate actually turning the pages of a precious book.
The PACCAR Gallery is home to temporary exhibitions.
The Workshop of Words, Sound and Images is an interactive gallery which traces the story of book production and sound recording.

Articles
The Golden Generation Of British Theatre At The British Library
British Library Acquires Dering Roll - A Who's Who Of Medieval Arms
Summer 2008 Holiday Ideas At UK Heritage Sites And Museums
British Library To Display Its Royal Illuminated Manuscripts
British Library Acquires Major Sound Collection Of Welsh Dialects
Codex Sinaiticus Bible Reunited In British Library Online Project
The Ramayana - India's Great Epic At The British Library

Trails
Monks, Knights, Peasants, Merchants - A Medieval Trail
Antony Gormley Across Britain - From The Angel Of The North To The Iron Man
To The Lighthouse And Beyond - A Virginia Woolf And Bloomsbury Trail
Hidden Treasures: London
Hidden Treasure Trail 1 - The People's Museum In London
D-Day 60th Anniversary: The Story Of The Longest Day
A History of Britain - At the Edge of the World?

Events
British Library Centre for Conservation  ; Exhibition; Guided tour
1968 On Record: A Year of Revolution  ; Exhibition
The Golden Generation: New light on British theatre 1945-1968  Exhibition
B68 Launch  ; Lecture; Performance
Black Power Salute
Reporting America, Reporting Britain: Alistair Cooke event  ; Lecture
Music at the British Library: Peter Dickinson on Lord Berners
Conservation advice clinics: Care and storage of textiles: an introduction  ; Workshop (Event)
The Secrets of Success, how to be a Start-up Star…  ; Lecture
Inspiring Entrepreneurs: The secrets of success - how to be a Start-up Star...
World Poets Tour  Performance
Ted Hughes: A Celebration
Black as Ink
Big Picture Party  Workshop (Event)
Gerald Scarfe: Fifty Years of Political Cartooning  Lecture
Josephine Hart Poetry Hour: W B Yeats  Performance
The 2008 US Presidential Election: A Debate  Lecture
Are our Rights and Freedoms Under Threat?
LATE at the Library  ; Performance
Taking Liberties: the struggle for Britain's freedoms and rights  Exhibition
African states and the legacy of colonialisation  ; Lecture
Watching the detectives  Lecture
Has the struggle for freedom and rights been won?  Lecture
Freedom in Brown's Britain: a historical perspective  Lecture
Music at the British Library: Catherine Parsonage on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue  Lecture
Magna Carta: Why it matters  Lecture
B68 Season: Lost Boys  Lecture; Performance
Rights and freedoms in a diverse society  Lecture
Human rights in Britain today  Lecture
A Source of Inspiration: Conversations with British Library readers  ; Lecture
Panizzi Lecture: Reading Bindings: Bookbindings in art and art on a bookbinding  Lecture

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Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

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