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Face of Alexander the Great statue opened to reveal a pink elephant, a snake, a horse and a ship.

Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth

Fri 21 Oct 2022 - Sun 19 Feb 2023

Gold

Fri 20 May - Sun 2 Oct 2022

Treasures of the British Library. Discover stories that shape the world.

Treasures of the British Library

Free

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Polari Prize shortlist showcase

Mon 10 Oct 2022

Limited places

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I'll Be There: An Evening with Duke Fakir of The Four Tops

Mon 3 Oct 2022

International Translation Day

International Translation Day

Today

Mah Laqa Bai and Courtesans in the British Library's Collections

Today

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All events and exhibitions

News

Web maintenance at the British Library

Travel disruption and delivery updates

There may be some disruption to our services over the next few weeks.

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Get your free British Library Reader Pass

Its all yours. Get your free Reader Pass for study space and over 170 million items.

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LEEDS 2023

We’re counting down the days until LEEDS 2023, a year-long festival celebrating the city's culture and creativity.

Blogs

Photo of the King's Library at the British Library, credit Luca Sage

Warm, safe and we also have WiFi - ways to enjoy the British Library for free

Sound and Vision blog from the British Library

Recording of the week: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Untold Lives blog from the British Library

The HCLF, chatbots and balancing cats

Learn

Preview of the Black literature timeline poster, showing text entries by date, portraits and a tablet featuring images of book covers and handwritten manuscripts

Collage of photograph of Andrea Levy's parents and one of her manuscripts

‘How come England did not know me?’: Recording Andrea Levy for Authors’ Lives

More Learning resources

Discover

A Description of Three Hundred Animals [page: frontispiece and title page]

The Devonshire Manuscript

Explore this hand-written volume, known as the Devonshire Manuscript

Explore our Highlights

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Find out how to get a Reader Pass

Support us

Support the British Library

Help grow, protect and share our collection

Business support

Business support at the British Library

We can help you start, run and grow your business

Work with us

Students working in the Library

Current vacancies and other opportunities – and how to apply