Capturing the carbon footprint of a British Library exhibition

Blog series Knowledge Matters

Author Luke Farrell

Spending time at the British Library during my Doctoral placement has been a genuinely rewarding and memorable experience, offering insight not only into a major national institution but also into the collaborative effort, care, and expertise that underpin its work.

From the outset, one of the most valuable aspects of my time at the Library was the opportunity to meet everyone involved in the Unearthed exhibition. Being introduced to colleagues across different teams highlighted just how interdisciplinary the project was, bringing together curators, designers, technicians, project managers, and sustainability specialists. Each conversation added another layer of understanding, revealing how individual expertise contributes to a shared goal. The openness and generosity of the team made it easy to ask questions, exchange ideas, and feel part of the process rather than an observer on the sidelines.

Alongside this, touring the British Library itself was an eye-opening experience. While the building is familiar to many as a public space for readers and researchers, seeing behind the scenes revealed the complexity of how the Library operates day to day. Learning how collections are managed, accessed, conserved, and made available to the public gave me a much deeper appreciation of the scale of coordination involved. It was fascinating to understand how systems, workflows, and people work together to support scholarship, exhibitions, and public engagement at such a high level.

Exploring the Unearthed: The Power of Gardening exhibition in detail was another highlight. Experiencing the exhibition as a complete, carefully crafted environment allowed me to appreciate not only its intellectual content but also the many design decisions that shape the visitor experience. The exhibition demonstrated how storytelling, objects, interpretation, and atmosphere can work together to communicate complex ideas in an accessible and engaging way. Seeing sustainability principles embedded into these decisions brought added meaning to the project and reinforced the importance of considering environmental impact alongside creative ambition.

A particularly significant part of my time at the Library involved getting to know what quickly became my new best friend, the GCC Carbon Calculator. While perhaps not the most glamorous tool at first glance, it proved to be an essential and surprisingly engaging companion. Beyond learning how to input data and generate results, I spent time exploring the vast methodology that underpins the calculator, gaining an understanding of how emissions are modelled, categorised, and attributed across materials, transport, energy use, and processes. This deep engagement transformed abstract discussions about sustainability into measurable, transparent evidence, and provided a robust framework for assessing the environmental impact of Unearthed with confidence and clarity.

This focus on sustainability continued during my visit to Boston Spa. Travelling to the Library’s northern site and seeing the deep storage facilities was both impressive and instructive. The sheer scale of the collections housed there, and the care taken to preserve them for future generations, was striking. Visiting the new building added another dimension, showcasing how sustainability considerations are being integrated into long term infrastructure planning. While there, I also completed Carbon Literacy training, which provided a valuable framework for understanding climate change in a professional context and for translating knowledge into meaningful action within organisations.

Returning to the work itself, the final stages of completing the GCC Carbon Calculator and the final report brought together everything I had learned during my time at the Library. This phase required careful attention to detail, clarity in presenting findings, and an awareness of how the results could inform future practice. Producing the final report felt both satisfying and purposeful, capturing the outcomes of sustained collaboration and offering a strong foundation for continued reflection on sustainability within exhibition making.

As my time at the British Library came to a close, it was impossible not to reflect on what an amazing experience it had been. From meeting inspiring colleagues and gaining behind the scenes insight, to developing practical skills and contributing to meaningful work, the experience was enriching on both a professional and personal level. I leave with a strong sense of gratitude, increased confidence in my abilities, and genuine excitement about what comes next. Whatever the future holds, the lessons, connections, and experiences gained here will undoubtedly continue to shape my work going forward.