Exploring the World's Knowledge : A day at the British Library.

Today we went to the British Library, which is very comparable to our Library of Congress.  Their collection holdings are over 52 million items and they also host rotating exhibits all year round.  We were all very excited to get our reader passes to do some research.  They are very strict about who they allow to have reader passes and they conduct an interview with you about your research before they will issue you a pass. I successfully passed my interview and received my card! :)

The library was so much larger than I expected it to be.  Although it was so large, I was slightly disappointed.  I enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by books as well as the smell of them.  The collection of the library is mainly held underground and in small rooms by their collection.  I felt a disconnect to the materials and it did not feel like I was standing in a sanctum of information like I have felt walking into other libraries.  While this  feeling was dampening I still enjoyed my time there and checked out their exhibits.  There are no photos allowed in the library but I was able to sneak one of their card catalogs (shhhh!). 

I would also like to share some photos with you of the outside of the library and of the King's Library, which is the private royal collection that is housed there.  Enjoy!