Jeremy Silver
Sir Colin St John Wilson
1973
We are the national library of the UK. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day.
Although our roots extend back centuries, we collect everything published today, tomorrow and decades into the future. We have millions of books, but also newspapers, maps, sound recordings, patents and stamps.
Our spaces are open for study, a place to meet friends, to start up a new business or to get inspired by visiting our galleries and events.
When the British Library moved to its current site at St Pancras in 1998, it was the start of a new chapter for the institution. But what about the history of its predecessor, the British Museum Library?
