Day 7 - The British Library

Day 7

Before we started the day, we stopped for pictures at King’s Cross Station at Harry Potter’s Platform 9 ¾. We also shopped in the Platform 9 ¾ shop.

We visited the British Library today (July 4). This huge library is run by 1700 staff members, a 1/3 of which are librarians. This is the national library of Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. It compiles its publications within one month of actual publication. All items are kept and nothing is ever thrown out. The British Library was commissioned for research and digital preservation. It was built in 1961 specifically as a library for preservation. It became operational in November 1997 and opened to the public in 1998. They keep the books separate from the artefacts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/British_library_london.jpg

It started as the 1st Library of the Republic in 1753 with the donation of the King’s Library. This is the first library to be created with preservation in mind. This collection contains 85,000 items that were donated by King George III. The king decreed that the books must be displayed at all times and must be used for research. This collection is housed in a tower of 6 floors that run through the centre of the library.

 

One really interesting item they had on display was the Klencke Atlas which was the largest book in the world until last year. It is 6’1” and takes 4 men to move. This book was given as a peace offering.

We got to venture into the Treasures room at the end of the tour. Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures in this room. This is where many of the rarer items are held for display. These include the Magna Carta and Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623. There is also a Gutenberg Bible and the Codex Sinaiticus which is the oldest item in the collection dating back to the mid 4th century. It is the first printing of the New Testament written in Greek and is nearly 1700 years old. An interesting fact about this Codex, and earlier copies of the Bible, is that it does not include John 8:1-11 which is the story of the prostitute in which Christ says anyone who has no sin throw the first stone.

That is all for now...