Culture

Singers with microphones in front of an audience at the British Library.

We engage everyone with memorable cultural experiences.

The inherent cultural and artistic value of the Library’s collections is beyond price. Our challenge over the coming years however, is to help even more people discover and enjoy our exhibition and events programme, and to be even more creative and diverse in the range of artistic experiences we commission and co-create. We want the Library to be a hub of ideas, debate, discussion, dialogue and experimentation. We also want to expand and improve our galleries and share our collections with wider audiences. And, we will look beyond the UK to ensure audiences overseas have more opportunities to appreciate our collections.

Our priorities for the years ahead for our Culture purpose are to grow the profile, diversity and creative impact of the Library’s cultural activities, both on-site and online. We also plan to develop an increased programme of loans, touring exhibitions and digital collaborations, with public libraries and others, that open our collections to new audiences, both across the UK and internationally.

Portfolios

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

A child pushing a light switch at a desk in a British Library Reading Room.

Everyone Engaged

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

Composite photograph of a laptop with pages of a book.

Everything Available

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

Drawing of the new building from Ossulston Street by Sir Colin St John Wilson c.1991

St Pancras Transformed

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

Wax cylinder being held in front of a phonograph.

Heritage Made Digital

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

Drawing of British Library Boston Spa site.

BL North

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