British Library

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.

We're continuing to experience a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack. Our buildings are open as usual, however, the outage is still affecting our website, online systems and services, as well as some onsite services. This is a temporary website, with limited content outlining the services that are currently available, as well as what's on at the Library.

I want to...

A man studies a book at the British Library

Use the Library

Our Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire are open, but access to our collection and online resources is very limited.

What you can do

The outside of the British Library building in St Pancras, London

Visit our buildings

Our buildings in London and Yorkshire are open as usual. Find our opening hours, facilities and access information.

Visiting us

A laughing crowd at a British Library event

Attend an event

Discover what's on at the Library. We have five-star exhibitions, events and courses, family activities, free galleries and tours.

Attend an event

Three young children play at a British Library event

Find schools information

Explore our free workshops and activities for schools, available in London, Leeds and online.

Events and workshops

A man and a women hold a discussion at a BIPC event

Get business support

We can support you in starting up, protecting or growing your business. Digital services are currently unavailable but our centres are open.

How we can help

A silhouette of a man’s head in front of a manuscript at the British Library

View other services

Useful information about other services, including Public Lending Right and legal deposit.

Our services

News

Last Word community hub

We've opened The Last Word community hub in our Piazza, which is the new base for our Community Engagement team. Here they'll meet Camden residents and host a range of activities with and for local people. The hub will also showcase changing displays of community projects for everyone to enjoy.

Knowledge under attack

Readers sat at desks by the King's Library at the British Library in St Pancras.

Knowledge under attack

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack, the impact of which continues to be felt by our staff, our partners and our millions of users. Find out more about the attack, its impact and our plans for restoring services, in this blog from our Chief Executive, Sir Roly Keating.

Make a donation or explore ways to support our work.

Support us

Support our work

As a charity, we work to preserve and share our collection of over 170 million items, which grows every day.