We care for books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera for current and future users

At the heart of the library are the collections in all physical and digital formats. Our conservation team cares for the physical collections, which number some 150 million items, from all cultures dating from 3000 BCE to the present day. The collections include a wide array of material types including paper, parchment, photographs, leather, papyrus, wood, textile, ceramic, metal.

The work of our conservation experts allows the collection to be used and preserves it for as long as possible. We do this with preventive techniques, hands on treatment of individual items, assessing and preparing items for digitisation, non-destructive scientific analysis and imaging techniques.

Read our position paper and strategic direction 2017-20 (PDF format) for more details on our conservation methods and activities. You can also come on a tour of our conservation studios to find out more.

Find out more

Preventive conservation

We protect the British Library's collections from harm, damage and deterioration.

Conservation treatment

We conserve books, paper items, parchment, vellum, photographs and textiles.

Conservation internships and placements

See our opportunities for conservation students and professionals.

Conservation science

Our specialists test materials, analyse items and conduct research.

Conservation advice for the public

Follow our advice on how to take good care of your collections.

Preservation guides

Download our free PDF guides on a range of preservation topics.

Help

How to handle rolled items

We show you how to unroll items like scrolls, rolls and maps.

How to handle books

See the techniques you should use to keep our books in good shape.

How to handle archive material

Watch our video on handling and help us keep our archive material in good condition.

How to handle folded items

See how to handle folded items like inserts in books, large maps or charters.

How to handle prints, drawings and photographs

Our video shows you how to handle these vulnerable items.

Using gloves

Should you wear gloves? Here's some advice to help you decide.

News and events

Conservation studio tour

Take a behind-the-scenes tour and see our world-renowned conservators in action

One day preservation courses at the British Library

Book your place on one of our courses for professionals and students.

Blog posts

Conservation of Maps in the digitisation project: Qatar Foundation Partnership – Part 2

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Following part 1 of the Conservation of Maps in the digitisation project: Qatar Foundation Partnership, this second blog post will present the treatments of two maps belonging to the IOR collection of the British Library: IOR/X/10065 and IOR/X/10066. Similar to...

Whales, horses and zebras—oh my! Conservation work for the Animals: Art, Science and Sound exhibition

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

In preparation for the Animals: Art, Science and Sound exhibition, Conservation assessed the suitability for display of over 150 BL collection items, of which just over 120 items actually made it into the exhibition. Seventy of these items came into...

Preserving Bach’s manuscripts

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Two Johann Sebastian Bach manuscripts in the British Library’s music collections - the autograph manuscript of the second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 870-893) and of the cantata ‘Wo soll ich fliehen hin?’ (BW 5), recently came into the...

Conservation of Maps in the digitisation project: Qatar Foundation Partnership – Part 1

Friday, December 16, 2022

The British Library Qatar Foundation Partnership (BLQFP) is a digitisation project that began in 2012 to create the Qatar Digital Library (QDL). For over ten years this free bilingual online portal has been fed from the British Library´s collections related...

More blog posts

Related services and subjects

Digital preservation

We save our digital heritage for future generations

Printed books

Our collections include books, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, handbills and advertisements