Day 2 of class brought us to the British Library and Conservation Centre, beginning with the latter and then a tour of the more notable parts of the former. Among the more well known sites on our itinerary, the British Library was already on my list of visits I was most looking forward to - I was not disappointed. During the lunch break I managed to check off a dream to-do and get my reader card for later research needed for our class research paper. I then bee-lined straight through the Treasures room to where they have Jane Austen's writing desk on display.
During our tour through the Conservation Centre, we heard from a couple of the paper conservators on staff, Jackie and Morgan. They taught us about the changes they make and explained the importance of documenting every decision and change as well as photographing each change. Wheat starch paste, which is a plant-based paste, is most common with paper repairs. Any repair or change made the staff aims to keep as reversible as possible, and their policy ensures that changes shouldn't be easily seen from six feet away.
British Library Reading Rooms info
The center iconic King's Library tower, which I found endless fun in trying to photograph over and over - its 85,000 volumes make for an eye-catching structure. Apparently the idea was taken from Yale University to encase the books - ranging from 1423 to 1820 - in a central glass tower. The British Library holds claim to being the first library to store books with preservation as the highest priority, contrary to general public expectation.
As the National Library, their possession of approximately 200 million items is hardly a surprise; however only 35 million are housed on site. They estimate roughly 8,000 titles are amassed each day, while in comparison, the U.S. publishing output is estimated to be 30 times that amount. Among their collections, every language is represented, and their staff includes 101 language curators to properly care for the materials in any given language. Their 11 reading rooms help split their collections and make them more accessible, which is backed by a 97% satisfaction rate with meeting patron requests within 55-70 minutes. Impressive statistics for the world's third largest library!
Writing: Making Your Mark exhibition (through 27 August 2019)
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