British Library, A treasure trove of global knowledge and history

96 Euston Rd NW1

The exhibits in the library are very rich

4.3

Introduction

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the largest academic libraries in the world, with a collection of 150 million items. Its collection includes works in almost all languages in the world. In addition to books, the collection also includes other printed and digital materials, such as manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, plays, patents, databases, maps, stamps, pictures, sheet music, videos, and audio recordings. As the second largest library in the world, its collection contains almost 14 million books and includes both recently published works and ancient manuscripts that can be traced back to 2000 BC. Due to UK legislation, any publisher who publishes a book in the UK must legally send a copy to the British Library for its collection. The British Library also actively acquires foreign books and other materials. Every year, the British Library adds three million new items to its collection, requiring about 11 kilometers of shelving to store them all.