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British Library Review
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British Library
Libraries, Bloomsbury
Fodor's Review:
Since 1759, the British Library had been housed in the British Museum on Gordon Square. But space ran out long ago. The collection of around 18 million volumes now has a home in state-of-the-art surroundings, and if you're a researcher, it's a wonderful place to work (special passes are required). The library's treasures are on view to the general public: the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, Jane Austen's writings, Shakespeare's First Folio, and musical manuscripts by Handel and Sir Paul McCartney are on show in the John Ritblat Gallery. Also in the gallery are headphones -- you can listen to some of the most interesting snippets in a small showcase of the National Sound Archive stored here (it's the world's largest collection, but is not on view), such as the voice of Florence Nightingale, and an extract from the Beatles' last tour interview. On weekends and during school vacations there are hands-on demonstrations of how a book comes together. Feast your eyes also on the six-story glass tower that holds the 65,000-volume collection of George III, plus a permanent exhibition of rare stamps. If all this wordiness is just too much, you can relax in the library's piazza or restaurant, or take in one of the occasional free concerts in the amphitheater.
INFO
- Address: 96 Euston Rd., Bloomsbury, London, NW1
- Phone: 020/7412-7332
- Web site
- Cost: Free, charge for special exhibitions
- Open: Mon. and Wed.-Fri. 9:30-6, Tues. 9:30-8, Sat. 9:30-5, Sun. 11-5 and bank holiday Mon.
- Tube: Euston, King's Cross
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