March 10, 2020
The British Library. No self-respecting list of London libraries is complete without it, really. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, boasting a whopping 170 million items – including artefacts from every age of written civilisation, which is damn impressive. The library doesn’t rest on its laurels, either, as three million new items join the collection each year. Anyone is welcome to visit (although the Reading Rooms are for members only), and the library’s inner six-storey glass tower, which was inspired by Yale University’s Beinecke Library, has become a rather photogenic addition. The tower is home to the the King’s Library, accommodating 65,000 printed volumes, 19,000 pamphlets, and manuscripts and maps collected by King George III between 1763 and 1820. Cheers George!