Research is central to our role as the national library of the United Kingdom. It helps us to share our collections and intellectual heritage with people across the globe. You can read about the role of research in our strategic vision, Living Knowledge.

We lead and collaborate with specialists from other cultural organisations and universities on research of all kinds. You can read about our research activities in our Research Reports.

What we do

Library staff have extensive research expertise, and their knowledge of our collections underpins many of the Library’s activities, including our exhibitions and learning programmes.

We work in partnership to deliver research projects supported by national and international funding bodies.

We work with a range of partners and funders to offer a variety of fellowship programmes for scholars to pursue their own research interests and develop professional expertise. Find out more about our fellowship opportunities.

We support postgraduate research through a range of programmes for doctoral students. Find out more about our collaborative doctoral studentships, PhD placement scheme and training events for doctoral students.

We play an active role in the national research landscape and contribute to the development of research policy in the UK. This expertise informs our own policy for good research practice at the Library. Find out more about our research policy work.

Get in touch

Find out how to propose a research collaboration with the British Library.

If have questions about research collaboration at the British Library, please contact the Research Development team.

How we collaborate

Doctoral research

We support postgraduate research through our Reading Rooms and online resources, through collaborative projects, and through research training events.

Projects and partnerships

We actively lead on and support research.

Proposing a new research collaboration with the British Library

An overview of the internal review process for new research collaboration proposals at the British Library.

Research expertise

Our research, professional and methodological expertise covers all disciplines and spans traditional and digital scholarship in all its forms.

Fellowships

We work with a range of partners and funders to offer a variety of fellowship programmes for projects based at the Library, and grants to support individual research using the Library’s collections.

Policy

As the national library of the United Kingdom, we are an integral part of the national research infrastructure and have an active approach to research and higher education policy.

News

Call for applications for 2023 PhD placement scheme

16 January 2023

We host a range of PhD placement projects each year, based in our specialist curatorial teams and in other areas such as research engagement, digital scholarship, corporate affairs and public policy.

Watch this space for our 2023 Doctoral Open Days!

23 November 2022

British Library Doctoral Open Days 2023

Publication of 2020-21 Research Report

4 October 2022

Publication of the British Library's 2020-21 Research Report.

Blog posts

BL Labs Symposium 30 March 2023: AI and GLAM data

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Don’t forget to register for the 2023 BL Labs Symposium (https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oAApT1laSFSCm28Kyfz4bA) Following the latest advancements in AI is almost a job in itself. The constant excitement sometimes feels almost bewildering, and it leaves us a little room to really get...

Digital Shevchenkiana – a Joint English-Ukrainian Project

Friday, March 10, 2023

Do not forget, with good intent Speak quietly of me (Taras Shevchenko, ‘Testament’, translated by Vera Rich) Every year, on 9-10 March, ‘Shevchenko’s Days’ (Shevchenkivs’ki dni) are celebrated in Ukraine. The national poet, founder of modern Ukrainian literature and famous...

Next in York - Join us at the University of York for the Repository Training Programme for Cultural Heritage Professionals

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

If you work in the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) sector and want to learn more about research repositories, this event is for you. The British Library’s Repository Training Programme for cultural heritage professionals is funded as part of...

Legacies of Catalogue Descriptions Project Events at Yale

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

In January James Baker and I visited the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale, who are the US partner of the Legacies of catalogue descriptions collaboration. The visit had to be postponed several times due to the pandemic, so we were...

More blog posts