Culture

A visitor in a gallery looking at a collection item

We engage everyone with memorable cultural experiences.

Through the sheer range, quality, scale and diversity of its collections, the Library is a cultural institution of global significance. Among the many millions of precious items held here are some of the world’s greatest masterpieces of illuminated manuscript art; rare books, including many unique survivals, that tell a comprehensive history of the printed word; historic documents, charters and letters; the handwritten archives of authors, scientists and composers; voices and music spanning the whole history of recorded sound.

Our priorities:

  • grow our cultural impact in the North of England and beyond, with the long term goal of a establishing a new permanent public space in Leeds
  • develop our work with the Living Knowledge Network and other partners to provide cultural experiences, on-site and online, for audiences across the UK
  • make our buildings and spaces more welcoming and engaging than ever before for the communities who live around us
  • shape and deliver an innovative, creative and inclusive exhibition programme.

Portfolios

These five major transformation programmes show how we're achieving our Knowledge Matters vision.

Everyone Engaged

Our mission is to make our intellectual heritage available to everyone for research, inspiration and enjoyment.

Everything Available

We're modernising our support for researchers of all kinds.

St Pancras Transformed

We're expanding the British Library’s campus in St Pancras, London.

Heritage Made Digital

We will transform digital access to our collections of heritage materials.

Boston Spa Renewed

We're developing our Boston Spa site to meet the information management challenges of the 21st century.