British Library

The British Library, which opened in its current location in 1998, was previously housed in the Reading Room at the British Museum. This is why the British Museum Archives still contains the old records from the former employees and patrons. The British Library is an impressively large building that includes an underground storage space that goes 75 feet under the courtyard. It is hard to believe the librarian when she says they are running out of space, but when you consider that they receive about 8,000 new publications each day, it makes more sense. They must accept a copy of everything published in the UK, including all periodicals, shopping catalogs, books and so on. If you want your book in their collection, feel free to bring it along on a visit. As most of the libraries here, they are all about being efficient. The employees have come up with some ingenious ways to save space, such as shrinking the size of newspapers by ironing new editions down each day.

The requirements for getting a reading room pass are so stringent that users must know exactly what they need from the collection, and provide proof that they have exhausted all other resources first. They must have a purpose to their research and a state a goal. There is an application and interview process that a person must pass first in order to gain entrance. An example that our librarian guide gave was, if a person wants a certain cookbook, it is probably somewhere else, and they do not necessarily need access to a reading room, so it would not be granted. If they can prove that they need something specific that cannot be found anywhere else, then permission to enter would be allowed. In order to help a person determine if the British Library has what they are looking for, there is an OPAC accessible from the website.

Once the reader pass is granted, a person may use the OPAC to request the book needed. The book will be sent to the proper reading room, and held there for 3 days. If the reader needs more time, then it must be requested. Obviously this library is not your typical public library, in fact the goal is not to make books open and accessible to the public. The British Library is more concerned with preservation of the materials they gather. Perhaps this is why even MLIS students were not allowed in any of the reading rooms or storage spaces.

While I do understand the importance of preserving information, this library felt too strict and uptight for me. Proven in the message of Bill Woodrow's sculpture, "Sitting on History," it is a necessary and great institution, I just would probably not care to work there. There were some very cool sounding items that I wish I could have seen, but of course, I have no research reason to see them except for interest. One of the cool sounding items mentioned was a map of the coast of Africa done solely with pictures of the animals that live there. The most interesting project they are working on is the recording of oral history. This is used to record stories in the way that people from different areas here speak now and in the past. Johnny Depp once listened to these recordings to become more familiar with certain accents while he was researching for a role.

The most accessible are would be the business center. Many UK citizens who are out of work are able to collect Redundancy Money, this money is often used to start a new business. So the business center is filled with these people researching the hows of becoming a successful business owner. There is a nice display of the success stories of people who used the library to make their business or product sell.

All in all the British Library is a necessary and stunning institution that aids in research, knowledge and preservation. There are may other public libraries that fill the need of allowing anyone to enter and read, the British Library serves its purpose well and efficiently.