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The British Museum Library collection includes more than 300,000 volumes dedicated to excellence in the research of human cultures – past and present – across the globe.
- Reading Room
By the early 1850s, the British Museum Library needed a...
- Resources
To access the library, archives and study rooms you simply...
- Reading Room
The British Museum Library has over 335,000 titles on human cultures worldwide. Learn how to plan your visit, reserve materials, request new items and access online resources.
By the early 1850s, the British Museum Library needed a larger reading room. Antonio Panizzi, the Keeper of Printed Books (1837–1856), had the idea of constructing a round room in the empty central courtyard of the Museum building. Earliest Museum plan for the new Reading Room.
To access the library, archives and study rooms you simply need to pre-book. Library and Archive. Find out how you can access the Museum's Library and Archive. Study rooms. Read about the Museum's study rooms and how you can access them. Search the collection. Discover detailed information on more than four million objects online. Read the blog.
The British Museum Reading Room, situated in the centre of the Great Court of the British Museum, used to be the main reading room of the British Library. In 1997, this function moved to the new British Library building at St Pancras, London, but the Reading Room remains in its original form at the British Museum.
About the library The British Museum library is open to the public but you must register before you visit. Contact us to visit and explore our vast collection of over 300,000 volumes from around the world, and throughout history.
The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages [8] and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings.
