The British Library

I really have a gripe against the British Library as it feels so alien. As a student at UCL, I often have to venture further to find the texts for class. While I can access them at the BL, this is only slightly useful as books cannot be checked out. Not only can books not be checked out, but there are very strict rules to the reading rooms. You cant have lip balm, water, pens, etc. etc. These strict rules and the lack of any natural daylight make the reading rooms feel very claustrophobic. I understand that these strict rules are to protect the books. While the rare books should be protected, do all the books need to be treated like they would fall apart if you looked at them wrong. Why cant the BL work like any public library and allow people to have some freedom with the books.
Therefore, I tend to attempt to source my books from other sources before turning to the BL. I will only visit the BL when I have exhausted all other resources. I am pretty sensitive to spaces so working in the BL is almost impossible for me and writing an essay without the actual text is pretty useless. Therefore, the intentions of the BL are amazing, but the execution leaves a lot lacking.

Check out the unique Africa exhibition, «West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song» before it closes on 16 Feb. If you like African culture, literature and history, you may not find anything elsewhere with this scope. It covers 2,000 years of history across 17 countries now (1,000 languages), with fascinating insight of African societies (oldest engraving of Benin society in 1628), literature, religion, music. Did you know brave locals hid and saved many of the Timbuktu manuscripts when extremists tried to destroy them? The speaking out section is also great, with carnival, music, film and a post independence section with much Fela Kuti, posters, books, and even political printed dress fabric. Wow

Free wi-​fi, good (free) exhibitions, a historic library of books (though I have never quite figured out in all my time where to go see the vast array of books — i really should ask) and great spaces and cafes in which to work in. Used by adults and especially students this is a great place to visit and chill for an hour or two, whether that’s on your laptop or just to explore. London is great at places like these and this is up there with the best.

wifi + free lockers/​vestiaires gratuits (usefull because close To St Pancras/​utile car à 5mins de la gare).

One reviewer called the British Library a book needs wet dream. What more can be said. If you are a bibliophile or a history buff, this is a must see. It is recommended you give a donation but it is not required. Be prepared to possibly have your bags searched but this is not any more intrusive than elsewhere. However, they could do a full body cavity search and it would still be worth it!

The British Library saves my life when I’m trapped indoors on a rainy day. It’s a great way to meet new people, access free internet and to treat your museum fix! I think this library is probably the best among libraries near the Angel & Camden boroughs.
Although, the facility does not have a printing machine; the unique study spaces rock! My favourite study space is the café because you have access to a power source, tall chairs and tables that are comfortable and food is just a hop skip from your laptop. I like the security officers. not everyone gets through the door unlike some other resource centres.

This is one of those non-​touristy gems to be found in Central London. There’s always an interesting exhibition on. The Magna Carta exhibition is almost over, but there’s a lovely one on animals in books right now and an amazing philately section.
The permanent exhibition showcases a wide range of historic books encompassing religion, music, culture and art. Photography is prohibited in some exhibitions.
Definitely peep in at the 6 storied King George library collection.
This is a 1 – 2 hour visit kind of place.

Perhaps one of the worst places to conduct research I have ever visited. Their online catalogue is an absolute mess. What should be straightforward is rendered incredibly difficult. I would recommend using an online database, visiting any university library, local library, local archive or the National Archive in Kew before heading here. If you need a book opt for inter library loans instead.
The saving grace is the St Pancras site is free to enter and clean. Good for finding a place to sit or to use the toilets. Don’t use for much else though.

It’s free, it’s conveniently located (literally next door to St Pancras International Station, which itself is next to Kings Cross and within a 5 minute walk from Euston), it has restaurants, it has some bad-​ass history (original lyrics from several Beatles tracks), the King’s Library (whatever this is, looks like something from the Crystal Maze) and currently the Magna Carta too. Awesome. Great place to spend a few hours.

Not used the the Sunday hours and early hours the UK has that we in the US don’t, we showed up here near closing time. However, it was one of the most pleasant surprises of my trip to London (who knew these treasures would be freely accessible in a library?!). The entrance is a lovely, open air, well-​lit space instantly letting you feel some calm amidst the hustle and bustle of busy London. I only had time to visit the Treasure Room and I loved it. The had old writings, drawings, from Michelangelo, Leonardo, hand-​written songs by the Beatles, old letters from/​to Churchill, ancient Bibles and religious cannon, etc. If you’re a history buff, you’ll love this place. (No photography/​video recording in the Treasure Room)

Come for the books, stay for the study space.
The central library in London is a book nerd’s wet dream. Walk inside and you’re treated to a vast open atrium lit by an array of skylights above. As your gaze rises, through the white-​walled walkways of the upper floors you can glimpse the real treasure of this library. Standing in the place of prominence is a huge glass tower filled with the prettiest and rarest books you’ve ever seen. From every public space in the library you can view these old books and just wonder at the words inside. Unfortunately you can’t wander through the rows and rows of ancient tomes.
If you have come to the library to access their vast and valuable collections, you’ll need a library card first. Getting a card is a quick and painless procedure, helped along by the friendly staff. Once you have your library card you have access to all of the reading rooms scattered around the library. The reading rooms have restrictions on what you can bring in (no bags, coats, food, drink, etc.). Go to the right side of the lower level and they have free lockers for you to stow your forbidden objects and there are clear plastic bags for you to carry your notebooks and laptops into the reading rooms. There’s also a dedicated coat check area downstairs.
If you’re coming to the library as a place to work on your own things, not needing access to their collections, then there’s no need for a library card. There are a fair number of tables for you. All of these tables have lots of power outlets built in. The library has free wifi (need to make an account to gain access) but it isn’t terribly fast.
If you spend a lot of time at the library like I do and get a bit hungry or your caffeine buzz wears off, there are a top notch café and restaurant at the back of the building.
If you’re all about the books and get tired of just seeing the old volumes shelved behind the glass, check out one of the library’s exhibits. There’s the rotating exhibit in the front of the building, next to the gift shop. Even better is the old books room just behind that with old texts from science, literature, religion, and some of the coolest giant globes I’ve ever seen!
Walk to the back left corner of the library (past the old books room, but before the café), look closely, and you may just discover the coolest thing about the British Library… Along the wall you’ll see rows of vertical metal bars built into the wall. Pull the handle on a bar and it slides out revealing an insane stamp collection with old stamps from all over the world! It’s so cool to browse and so many people just walk on by without even realizing what’s hidden in the walls!!!

This place is absolutely amazing! This is my first time here and I mainly came to study and get some work done. There are a couple of cafes and restaurants on the property if you need some fuel to get your work done. I was trying to beeline to the café to secure a table but I couldn’t resist just taking a look at all of the interesting permanent and temporary exhibits the BL had to offer!
This place is a must visit whether you are planning on studying or just wish to peruse around to learn a thing or two. It is the type of place that you can come back to time and time again and have an entirely new area to explore. I plan on coming here many more times… and bringing my friends and family too!

Music with the best of the 80s and Revision! Come on!!! #amgonnamakeit #Godisgood #faithworks #focus

I swear it’s not because I’m an American, but I really liked researching in the Library of Congress far more. Even the lesser reading rooms at the LOC are far grander, and the lesser rooms let you bring a camera. Here I had to harangue my way into using the overhead scanner to copy a public-​domain document.
Still, it was pretty cool to have done my research here. Getting the reader card was an easy experience, and the people in readers’ services were far, far friendlier than their counterparts at the LOC. The amazing things they let you access for free — it’s really like nothing else.
The exhibits were as good as you’d expect, and the special exhibit they had up on Gothic literature and art was really wonderful.

Love love love this place. As a part-​time freelance writer, this is an inspiring place to work. The British Library houses a ridiculous number of priceless works, maps, and other written gems. There’s one main exhibition area where you’ll find a copy of the Magna Carta, original song lyrics written by John Lennon, an original Gutenberg bible, and many many many many other fantastic literary artefacts. The rest of the library is pretty much an archive of rare and historically significant books.
There’s a café on the 1^st floor that serves a fantastic Victoria sponge and good coffee. The wi-​fi is free and stable (yay!). The library is right next to King’s Cross Station, which, unfortunately for me, is a wee bit of a trek, but it’s totally worth it. If you want to visit to work, avoid the weekend as it gets crowded (and loud, sadly). The weekdays are generally more subdued, though you get the odd group of students visiting and they can sort of disrupt things.

One of my favorite study/​work places. Home to the Magna Carta, original notes of Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo, song lyrics from the Beatles, the earliest manuscript of the New Testament. Best of all, plenty of seats and outlets (if you come early and grab a table by the wall). Soak up the history and culture while reading and getting work done.
The café is on the 1^st level and the restaurant is on the 2^nd. There are lots of specialized reading/​research rooms but those will require special (but free) permits booked in advance. Also come in with the expectation that this isn’t your typical library where you can just touch and browse the books.
Normally open until 6pm (5pm on weekends), they close especially late on Tuesdays at 8pm. Closest tube station is St Pancras.

The British Library ou la bibliothèque des découvertes dans le plus grand calme.
Axée sur la recherché, cette bibliothèque est à visiter mais les rayonnages né sont pas accessibles aux touristes.
Pour commencer, le hall, très clair, porte sur une colonne monumentale de livres anciens.
Ensuite, dans la Treasures Gallery. C’est gratuit et plein de pièces rares et historiques.
Il y a le plus vieux livre imprimé du monde (le Sutra du Diamant), des partitions manuscrites et originales de compositeurs célèbres (de Mozart aux Beatles !), des notes de Léonard de Vinci, la Magna Carta (très importante pour l’histoire de l’Angleterre) de très beaux livres avec des enluminures…
Les expos temporaires ont toujours l’air d’être intéressantes, mais elles sont payantes et chères à mon goût (13£ environ) comme la boutique.
Pourtant, il a toujours une petite expo gratuite, près de la Treasures Gallery je crois, très intéressante et bien expliquée.

Fantastic collection here. I loved seeing Jane Austen’s writing desk as well as all the original manuscripts that are housed at the library. Great stop for a tourist. Free wi-​fi was nice as well.

I don’t usually give 5 stars but BL deserves one for the following reasons
— beautiful large space
— lots of incredible rare and very beautifully illustrated old books
But for me, foremost, this is a great place to work. BL has lots of tables. Lots of outlets. Great free WIFI. Several places on-​site to get coffee and fuel. And it is very close to the King’s Cross and St Pancras station.

This was the place we visited the last before we had to fly back to Berlin. During the morning, we went to the gallery of this library, and checked out various interesting manuscripts. They had manuscripts of Beethoven and other famous composers, as well as old Bibles and Korans, and even the Magna Carta.
Photography is not allowed in the gallery, due to the delicate nature of the exhibits. Light is very dim, but otherwise, it is very educating and I recommend it for every history buff.

Bibliothèque très sympa à visiter, et on aimerait pouvoir venir y travailler ! (Je n’ai pas eu l’occasion, mais la prochaine fois!)
Apparemment la bibliothèque possède 14 millions de livres et est un des premiers lieux de recherches au monde. A né pas louper ! La salle des trésors qui regorge d’oeuvres historiques.
Touristes, n’hésitez pas à venir la visiter! Et si vous avez besoin d’un endroit pour travailler, vous savez où aller :)

The British Library: not just for books any more.
Ok, there are books. A ton of them (over 14 million I was told) and it’s still one of the premier public places to do research in the world. No question.
Now, I’ve never needed this place to do research, so I cannot talk about it from that perspective. What I can talk about is from someone who enjoys learning, and in that case, step this way.
I specifically came to the British Library to see The Treasure Room, which is like a tiny museum filled with some of the greatest historical items alive. They’re not using the word Treasure lightly. It has Beatles lyrics, drawings by Michelangelo, the journal of Leonardo, Oscar Wilde’s books, a section on Shakespeare and, of course, the Magna Carter, plus many many more. It’s free and open to all. Go up the stairs to the left and you’ll find it.
Beyond that though, just wander around, they always have rotating and amazing exhibits. I saw one about censorship through the ages which was fascinating and another on famous illustrated children’s books (like The Hobbit or Paddington Bear) which I loved.
Coming to London as a tourist? Go here? Live here? Go here more. It’s worth it.

Ohne Ausweis kann man zwar in die Bibliothek rein, aber eigentlich nur den Treaury Room besuchen. Für das Anfassen bzw. Lesen von Büchern braucht man die Reading Card. WLAN ist nach Registrierung aber kostenfrei und Sitzen ist schön.

Die British Library befindet sich gut erreichbar in der Nähe der Bahnhöfe King’s Cross/​St. Pancras. Sie ist Pflichtexemplarbibliothek für Großbritannien und eine reine Präsenzbibliothek. Einen Ausweis bekommt man nur, wenn wenn man nachweist, ihn für eine bestimmte Recherché zu benötigen.
Das Gelände wurde 1998 komplett neu bebaut und neben der Bibliothek gibt es auch verschiedene Cafés und Ausstellungen hier zu sehen. Zur Zeit hänge ich hier aber öfters rum, um das kostenlose Internet zu genießen, da ich zuhause (noch?) keines habe.
Update: Es gibt hier großzügige Sitzmöglichkeiten, Cafés und die Möglichkeit, Tischtennis zu spielen. Aufgrund erhöhter Sicherheitsbestimmungen sollen im Eingangsbereich des Gebäudes alle Taschen den Wachleuten zur Kontrolle vorgelegt werden. In der Praxis wird dies aber nicht wirklich konsequent durchgesetzt und so passiert es oft, dass man einfach durchgewunken wird oder vorbeischlüpft.
Auf der Website gibt man sich ganz ganz böse — man solle doch bei der Registrierung angeben, welche Bücher man braucht und so weiter. Das dient wohl eher der Abschreckung, damit nicht Hinz und Kunz diese Bibliothek belagert. Erforderlich sind jedoch ein Personalausweis/​Reisepass und ein Nachweis der Adresse (zum Beispiel eine Council Tax-​Rechnung), und wenn man einen Studentenausweis vorzuliegen hat, umso besser. Dann noch schnell ein Foto mit ihrer Webcam gemacht und man hat einen neuen grünen Bibliotheksausweis.

Des ouvrages dignes d’intérêt
Quel contenu énorme que dispose la British Library, la Charte de 1215, des manuscrits de Léonard de Vinci, des éditions de Hamlet. Mais j’ai accroché surtout sur des partitions de Mozart et de Beethoven. Vraiment très instructif, excellent.