Research collaboration

Research underpins all core purposes of the British Library. We play a key role in the UK research community and work with national and international partners to support and stimulate research of all kinds.

We lead and support research projects, supervise a range of collaborative PhDs, research placements and fellowships, and run a regular programme of training events. Our staff have extensive research expertise and we contribute actively to the development of research policy.

You can read more about our activities in our 2017-18 Research Report.

(An older edition of the Research Report, covering the academic year 2016-17, is available here).

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.

Research expertise

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

Training and events

We convene and support research events and training activities throughout the year.

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 Proposals for AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships

4 October 2019

Apply by 22 November 2019.

Chevening British Library Fellowships, 2020/21: Applications now open

14 August 2019

Find out about two new year-long fellowship opportunities for international experts.

New edition of British Library Research Report published

20 May 2019

The 2017-18 Research Report is now available, covering the impressive range of collaborative research at the British Library.

Help

Proposing a new research collaboration with the British Library

How to propose a new research collaboration with the British Library.

Case studies

More Case studies

…The British Library is a unique institution that gathers research and source materials in one place.…

Research on Turkic periodicals: Akmal Bazarbaev, Chevening-British Library Fellow 2018-19

…Getting to explore the Library’s rich collection of pamphlets is a huge privilege as a doctoral researcher.…

Researching American political pamphlets from between 1919 and 1945.

…Book historical research has transformed the way we look at books and their role in society.…

Researching the social and political impact of printed music in the long eighteenth century.

Photography of the PhD student Hannah Connell

…The wide range of ideas and inspirational projects in which I have been involved through working with British Library staff and collections has allowed me to explore my research from new and unexpected perspectives.…

Exploring migration and diasporic community identities through Russian-language émigré publishing

…I have particularly enjoyed developing new knowledge of the Library’s web archiving work.…

Exploring the challenges and opportunities of collecting interactive web-based works.

…I have most enjoyed the collaborative atmosphere of learning at the Library.…

AHRC Innovation Placement Fellow

Research collaboration events

MA in Early Modern English Literature: Text & Transmission

Fri 1 Sep 2017 - Sun 30 Sep 2018

The British Library is working in partnership with King’s College London to teach an MA in English literature, entitled Early Modern English Literature: Text and Transmission.

Blog posts

Building Digital Archives: Tools, Techniques & Approaches - a training workshop offered by Jadavpur University, School for Cultural Texts and Records

Friday, December 6, 2019

We decided to inaugurate the webpage of our project EAP1247 – Songs of the Old Madmen – with a short piece about the first concrete step towards the creation of our digital archive. Our first tangible accomplishment would not have...

British Library x Charles Jeffrey Research Competition launched: show & tell top picks from the European Studies team

Monday, November 18, 2019

Lora Afric, Languages Cataloguing Manager, reflects on some highlights from a year of fashion collaboration at the Library The British Library has, for the third year running, worked with the British Fashion Council on the Research Collaboration Project. This year...

The Revolutionary Year of 1989

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Thirty years ago today the crossing-points between two German states opened, marking the end of the Berlin Wall, demolished in the following months. The concrete barrier, separating East and West Berlin from 1961 until 1989, has been a symbol of...

Digital Conversation: Games, Literature and Learning

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Happy Halloween! If you aren't heading out trick or treating this evening, and prefer a quiet night in, then you may like to play some of the wonderful games and interactive fiction that were created in last year's Gothic Novel...