Introducing our new catalogues

In the main catalogue you can find the majority of our books and other published material. Our eresources, which you can access in our Reading Rooms, will be available here. While approximately 450 electronic resources – including both research databases and e-journals packages – are already available, more are being added over the coming weeks.

Yes, all existing Readers will need to set up their own personal account in the new main catalogue and you can do this as soon as you like. We recommend setting up your account at home, as you’ll need access to your emails to verify your details.

To set up your account, all you’ll need is the email address you registered as a Reader with. Enter this in the log in screen, then select 'Forgot password' when you're asked to enter your password. You'll be sent an authentication code, which you need to enter in order to set up your password.

Once you’re logged in to your account, you can request to consult items directly in the catalogue.

We have detailed guidance on logging in for the first time, requesting items and using your account to track orders and view your searches in this online guide.

No, for anything that is listed in the main catalogue you can now only request items using the new system. If you submit a request for something in the main catalogue using the old item request form your request will be cancelled, and you will be notified by email.

However, the old form should still be used to request specific items which aren’t found in the main catalogue, such as archives and manuscripts.

Eresources can be accessed through our new main catalogue in our Reading Rooms. At point of launch there are approximately 450 electronic research databases accessible and some e-journal packages. We are continuing to make all eresources that were previously available accessible in the coming weeks. We will keep our website updated as and when resources are added.

As well as ordering in the catalogue you can also now:

• Save items to look at later
• View your search and request history (for items requested in the new system)
• See the live availability status of items
• Track the status of your requests, so you know when they’re ready to consult.

You also now have up to 7 days at a time to consult items before they’re recalled.

We have a help guide for our main catalogue. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, you can contact our team on Chat.

The Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue contains descriptions of our archives and manuscripts collections and much of our visual arts collection. This is an interim catalogue which contains catalogue records created before October 2023, and we are not able to list any newly catalogued items in it for the time being.

The catalogue includes: 

• Western manuscripts and archival documents from medieval times to the present day
• material from and about Asia and Africa including the India Office Library, records, private papers and visual arts collections
• music manuscripts
• prints, drawings and photographs
• maps
• philatelic material
• items in the Endangered Archives Programme, which digitises material from around the world which is in danger of destruction, neglect or physical deterioration. These items are not held at the Library but digital copies are available to view. 

Readers who have registered or renewed their pass since 21 March 2024 can request physical items prior to visiting the Library. If your Reader Pass was issued before this date, you will need to visit the Library in London or Yorkshire to renew it before you can request items online. 

You’ll need to use this request form to request items from this catalogue. When you’re ready to request, make sure you have the Reference (shelfmark) of the item you want to hand, along with your Reader number and registered email address. You can find an item’s Reference (shelfmark) at the top of its catalogue record. Please quote this exactly when you complete the request form. 

This form can only be used to order items from this catalogue, and a few other specific items that aren’t in our main catalogue. If you use this form for other items that are listed in our main catalogue, your request will be cancelled and you will be notified by email.

We have detailed guidance on requesting items in this online guide.

Sounds can continue to be ordered through our Sound and Moving Image Catalogue. We will keep Readers updated with further developments to our catalogues as they are made.

You can use our Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue to find all available digitised manuscripts and archives. To find these, open the catalogue and select 'Digitised content' on the left-hand side, then choose 'Yes (available)'. You can also enter words into the search box or use the lists on the left-hand side to refine your search.

The Digitised Content Platform filter allows you to refine further to find digitised content on particular platforms, such as the Endangered Archives Programme or Qatar Digital Library platforms. The option labelled "BL Digitised Manuscripts (2024-)" allows you to select the 3000+ digitised manuscripts which have been put back online since the cyber-attack on the British Library.

Please note that some digitised items are currently unavailable as a result of this cyber-attack. We’re working hard to put these back online as soon as possible.