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 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...

Textiles in Ethiopian Manuscripts at the British Library

Friday, December 17, 2021

Eyob Derillo, Curator Ethiopic and Ethiopian Collections. Little is known about the secrets that Ethiopian Christian manuscripts retain inside their covers. In addition to the texts that cover the full range of topics, from religion to magic, or from poetry...

Conservation of the Granville Archive papers

Friday, December 10, 2021

Veronica Zoppi, Conservator General description: The Granville Archive, recently acquired by the British Library, includes a vast collection of letters and papers relating to British national life in the 18th and 19th centuries. These papers had been unknown to researchers...

Important information for email subscribers

Friday, August 13, 2021

Unfortunately, the third-party platform that the British Library uses for email notifications for our blogs is making changes to its infrastructure. This means that from mid-August 2021 it will no longer send notifications by email to subscribers. To find out...

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