British Library

July 8, 2008













(source)

http://www.bl.uk/news/pictures.html

Today, our British Studies Program -Library Group ventured over to the British Library today by way of the Underground, aka "The Tube". While waiting for about 10-15 minutes, since we were a bit early, we busied ourselves viewing the sites within the library. First, there was the seat which was designed as an open book; it is very unique. Many of the group members sat and posed for pictures. Second, there was the "Turning the Pages" electronic display that projected a series of scanned books. As the placard on the kiosk read, "’Turning the Pages’ is the British Library's award-wining interactive program that allows you to 'turn' the pages of precious manuscripts and books, and zoom in on the high-quality digitized images.” There was one book, I think it was called the "Turin Bible" which was either in Hebrew or Arabic and the pages were turned from right to left. This display certainly was a WOW! factor.

After a fashion, our guide Kevin arrived and began with a brief introduction of himself. He stated that he has been employed at the Library for 25 year and is currently the Donation Officer. He continued saying that the BL is a working library, with two art galleries and a gift shop, and there are 2,300 staff members. The function of the library has the following functions: 1. To acquire an entire bibliography (Acquire), 2. Keep the archive forever (Retain), and 3. Make available all services (Review). He pointed out that the open-book chair with the attached ball and chain was symbolic of keeping the books secure and prevent loss. Kevin also highlighted that all of the books are stored within 6 floors, a total of 75 feet underground.

Furthermore, Ken informed us that the library was born in 1973 [by Act of Parliament in 1972], that land was acquired from the British Rail, and the library was operated out of nineteen buildings until 1997.

After a few more tid-bits, Ken walked the group over to the giant hand-woven wall tapestry, gave some background on it, than walked over to the Founding Fathers, a series of bust-figures. He called them the “garden of gnomes,” which everyone giggled at his remark. Each one was described and given history, but one stood out, that of Sir Hans Sloane – scholar, academic, traveller… His main claimed to fame was that he introduced chocolate from Jamaica to the United Kingdom, had a small private library which he loaned out to friends and dignitaries, which he bequeathed to the British Museum (originally the Montagu House).

We arrived at the Philatelic Collection, which Ken said is the largest in the world, with 8.5 million items. He pulled a few vertical drawers from the wall and then talked about a particular stamp, one of the world’s most expensive stamps; it’s worth £2.5 million. He asked the group if we knew what it was. And after a few seconds, a member (yours truly), shot out the name of Queen Victoria. And Ken said that I was correct, and that there were 14 in existence. I was a bit flabbergasted that I answered correctly. It was a good guess on my part! Ken was a little surprised that anyone knew. Kudos for me, I guess!

Next, we walked to a model of the library, which we were told by Ken was designed to represent a boat (because the architect liked boats). The model also showed a cut-away which showed the underground area, four of the actual six floors, where all the books are shelved. At this point, Ken mentioned his father was a diplomat with NATO and is currently 89 years [young]. He spoke of conservation of books and materials as well, stating that if the books would get wet from a fire alarm, flood, etc., they would be put into an industrial sized freezer to dry and treated when thawed.

From that point, Ken went into statistic of the entire collection: the library consists of 170 million items which estimates to approximately 800 miles worth of books, and it continuously grows eight miles a year. Another quiz was asked of our group: Who has the largest collection? After several wrong guesses, the answer revealed to be the Lenin in Moscow. The second largest is the Library of Congress, and the third is the British Library. On our way to our next stop, we passed a display of miniature books. I kiddingly called them “mini-me” books. That got a few laughs from the group!

From there, we went to the Reading Room where people can register for a Reading Pass (aka, Library card), and heard the procedures of getting a pass, which included 1. Filling out the online application on the Reader Registration System, 2. An interview by a library staff member to get further information, and 3. Information of the materials required. We also received a hands-on demonstration of how the books/materials are digitally ordered via computer by patrons, pulled from the subterranean storage levels, sent to receiving room behind the Reading Room, put in a bin, and then rolled out to the librarian in the Reading Room by a conveyor system. INGENIOUS! Very “auto-manufacturing” style! With a Reader Pass, one can order materials (requesting up to 8 to 10 items) and access the Reader Room(s). It was stated that the books are organized by subject.

Ken continued by speaking about the Anglo American Catalog, (spelled Catalogue in the UK), and how their books are classified and shelved, which are by size and grid reference (building, location/floor, quadrant/section). National ownership, which is applying a die stamp a minimum of three stamps in each book; front, middle, and back. As well as CIP data, which is an abbreviated version of the machine-readable cataloging (or MARC) record that resides in the Library's database, as stated on http://cip.loc.gov/cipdata.html.

One question brought up by a group member was about patrons and copyright issues regarding copying parts of a book. Ken said that it was allowed to copy 5% of a book under British copyright law.

Ken then cited various statistics about the history of book materials, stating that older books were produced from cotton rag, but merged to wood pulp because of cost and supply. That the British Museum is the most popular library in the world because every language spoken is represented in it’s collection, and that 35% of it’s users are overseas researchers. At this point he finally told us information on the central collection of books encased behind a glass pillar. It is the King George III Collection, also known as the King’s Library. There is a door with an elevator that goes up, down and sides-ways to access the books, and they are currently being used by researchers. Further, more statistics were revealed regarding preservation and that by 2020, 40% of the collection will be in digital output format.

A very interesting and very large book we viewed was the Klencke Atlas, also known as the Atlas of the World, dated 1660. It is of Dutch origin, as was my paternal forefathers, and is the largest printed piece in the BL collection. It was a gift from the Dutch. It is also one of the largest printed works in the world.

The final area we visited was the Manuscripts room. Housed here are the printed treasures of the world, dating back centuries. Some of these included the original Beowolf manuscript, the Gutenberg Bible, hand-written music scores for the Beatles, various illuminated manuscripts, and so much more. After we were finished looking around, viewing all the treasures, we all were exhausted!

I decided to join Dr. Welsh for some hot chocolate and pastries. I was hooked when she told that the BL has the BEST hot chocolate in the world. And she was right! After we indulged ourselves, we trudged home with sore feet and backs (and eyes). I am exhausted just typing this information. It was a full day!







View of the BL Cafe where hot chocolate and patries were enjoyed.

Source: http://londonist.com/2006/08/londonist_gets_3.php)




Additional Information

The British Library’s websites boasts “We hold over 13 million books, 920,000 journal and newspaper titles, 57 million patents, 3 million sound recordings, and so much more” (http://www.bl.uk/). Wikipedia states that “The British Library (BL) is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is based in London and is one of the world's most significant research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings and much more, making it, by certain measures, the largest collection in the world. The Library's collections include around 25 million books, along with substantial additional collection of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Library).

The British Library was created by Act of Parliament in 1972, which combined several national archives under a single administration. The library is funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and through donations and gifts.

And from the BBC’s website, “at long last - in its new home at St Pancras in central London, the library is comparable with other great national institutions such as the American Library of Congress and the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/ A461990).

The British Reading Rooms
(http://www.bl.uk)

History of the British Museum
http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/history_and_the_building/general_history.aspx