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British Library
back to sights listingThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest libraries. Its vision is to make the world's intellectual, scientific and cultural heritage accessible, and to bring the collections of the British Library to everyone - at work, school, college or home.
Since 1759, the British Library had always 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 are a researcher, it's a wonderful place to work.
The library's treasures are on view to the general public:
o Magna Carta
o Lindisfarne Gospels
o Leonardo da Vinci's Notebook
o The Times first edition from 18 March 1788
o Beatles manuscripts
o The recording of Nelson Mandela's trial speech
o Gutenberg Bible
o 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, such as the voice of Florence Nightingale, and an extract from the Beatles' last tour interview. The Workshop of Words, Sound & Images explores the vitality of the living word, and 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. Collections include:
Material from 300 BC to today's newspapers.
310,000 manuscript volumes, from Jane Austen to James Joyce, Handel to the Beatles.
49.5 million patents.
Over 4 million maps.
Over 260,000 journal titles.
The main points of the British Library's positions that make us more comfortable with it:
It receives a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland - so there are nearly all editions ever printed in the territory of UK and Ireland.The collection includes 150 million items, in most known languages and 3 million new items are incorporated every year.
It houses manuscripts, maps, newspapers, magazines, prints and drawings, music scores, and patents.
The earliest dated printed book, the Diamond Sutra, can be seen in its exhibition galleries alongside many other national treasures.
Over 16,000 people use the collections each day.
If you see 5 items today, it would take you 80,000 years to see the whole of the collection.
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Address: British Library 96 Euston Rd. London NW1, United Kingdom More Hotels in London: Grosvenor House London Landmark London Langham London Hilton Park Lane Marriott Grosvenor Meridien Piccadilly Royal Garden Sheraton Belgravia Sheraton Park Lane Sheraton Park Tower Sofitel London Caesar Hotel |
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