Our research
Read our research strategy, find out about priority research areas and take a look at current and past projects.
What are the Library’s priority research themes?
As an Independent Research Organisation, the Library has research expertise in a broad range of disciplines. We will prioritise collaborative proposals that actively contribute to the Library’s objectives and particularly welcome approaches which relate to our priority research themes.
What are The British Library’s priority research themes?
Collection histories
Research into the histories of our collection enhances and develops our understanding, informing how we manage and present them as a keeper of national memory. Projects in this area may include provenance research; investigating the lives and legacies of collectors and institutions; histories of curation; conservation and dispersal.
New narratives
Our collection is full of stories that are relevant to contemporary issues and have the potential to engage new audiences, which need to be surfaced through high-quality research. Such projects will inform many aspects of our long-term public programming, including exhibitions, live events, broadcasts, digital resources, events and publications.
Innovations in library services
Libraries are research infrastructure, and as the national library, we must continue to adapt and improve how we provide national infrastructure and services across disciplines in response to changing needs and opportunities.
Policy and practice
Our practice-based research engages with areas including cultural and heritage policy and practice; sustainability; issues of access, equality, diversity, and inclusion in libraries; co-collecting and co-curation; learning programmes; information literacy; libraries' engagement with creative industries and their social, cultural and economic value.
Research Strategy
We have set out the overarching principles for our research up to 2030.
Find out how we will use our expertise and collections to generate new knowledge and understanding.
Photo by Mike O'Dwyer
Research Report
Our annual Research Report provides an overview of research projects and gives details on our activities, including:
- postgraduate research
- partnerships
- outputs and impact
- fellowships and scholarships.
Photo by MikeO'Dwyer
Explore our research
Research Repository
Visit our Research Repository for open access research produced by staff and research associates of the British Library.
British Library Blogs
Our blogs provide the latest stories and updates about items in our collection, recent acquisitions, the latest research and what's happening at the Library.
