News

To keep our users and all our staff safe and healthy we’ve taken the decision to close our physical sites in London and Boston Spa for the time being, and suspend our public events.

Published date:

26 May 2020

Over the coming weeks we will continue to offer as many online services as we possibly can so that the British Library remains open to everyone, wherever you are in the world. And we will be working hard to maintain this access during these unprecedented times.

You can continue to view and explore much of our collection online. There are also many stories, images and resources available for anyone whose curious mind needs to be kept busy right now.

If you were planning to attend an upcoming event or exhibition we’ll be in touch to let you know if and when these will be rescheduled or to arrange a refund. Please bear with us while we make these arrangements.

In the meantime we’ll keep you posted on any changes and let you know as soon as our buildings can reopen.

Check back here for future updates. Alternatively sign up to our emails or follow us on social media.

Update

From 22 July we’re intending to open some of our Reading Rooms in St Pancras and Boston Spa as the first step of a phased reopening. We’re working really hard to open more of our spaces and services as quickly and as safely as possible. Please see our news story for more information.

Find out about accessing British Library online content and services.