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44.5641C40.8658 43.6564 41.0539 42.5758 41.1009 41.3655C41.1244 40.9549 41.1479 40.4794 41.1479 40.0256V36.6973H27.3927V39.1611H32.9653V39.1395Z" fill="white"></path></svg></a><div class="Menu_menu__WUNEk Menu_headerMenu__y2Zmf"><ul><li><a class="Menu_active__aH3VL" href="/research/">Research</a></li><li><a class="" href="/bipc/">Business</a></li><li><a class="" href="/whats-on/">What's on</a></li><li><a class="" href="/learning/">Learning</a></li><li><a class="" href="/visit/">Visit</a></li><li><a class="" href="/cyber-incident/">Cyber incident</a></li><li><a class="" href="/more/">More</a></li><li><a class="" href="https://shop.bl.uk/">Shop</a></li></ul></div><button class="hamburger " type="button" name="Toggle menu" aria-label="Toggle menu" aria-controls="navigation" aria-expanded="false"><span class="hamburger-box"><span class="hamburger-inner"></span></span></button></div></div></header><div style="opacity:1"><div class="Banner_banner__dREDd"><img alt="A man studies a book at the British Library" fetchpriority="high" width="0" height="0" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="Banner_img__E9TWA" style="color:transparent" src="/research/banner.jpg"/></div><div class=" Container_wide__UcEgu Container_container__wufUs Container_vertical-padding-none__iW4OW"><div class="main "><div class="Breadcrumbs_breadcrumb__Yz_Dy"><ul><li><a href="/">British Library</a></li><li><span>Research</span></li></ul></div><div class="page"><div class="Introduction_component__g6XG0 "><h1>How to use the British Library</h1><div><p><strong>We're a bit different to your local library. We house the national collection, with many unique items. You can't take books home, but you can use our Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire for personal study and to access our collection. All you need is a free <a href='/research/reader-pass'>Reader Pass</a>.</strong></p><p>You can also use our public spaces in London for personal study, but you can only consult collection items in our Reading Rooms. Some rooms have a special focus, where you consult a particular type of material, others are more general reading areas. All of them have comfy seats, free Wi-Fi, and staff you can ask for advice. </p></div></div><div class="Splash_component__c8x9o Splash_right__bUZcN"><div class="Splash_splash__zGoZC"><div><h2>Search our catalogue</h2><p>Explore an interim version of our main catalogue, which contains the majority of our printed collections, but not everything is included.</p></div><div class=""><a href="https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en" class="Button_button__4srZn Button_secondary__NQ9ql" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Search the catalogue</a></div></div><div class="Splash_content__jUza_"><div><div style='text-align:center'><h2>What鈥檚 currently available?</h2><p>We're continuing to experience disruption to our services because of a <a href='/cyber-incident/'>cyber-attack</a>. At the moment access to our collection and online resources is limited.</p><div class='Button_container___MqoV'><a class='Button_button__4srZn Button_primary__Jwbwm' style='display: inline-block; min-width: 200px;' href='https://bl.libguides.com/currently-available'>What鈥檚 available and where to find it</a></div></div></div></div></div><div class="RichText_component__95g1I "><div><h2>Visit the British Library</h2></div></div><div class="listing--component listing--component__nosidebar"><div class="listing"><div class="tile"><img alt="A man collects books at a Reading Room at the British Library" loading="lazy" width="325" height="180" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent" src="/research/reader-pass-a-man-collects.jpg"/><h3>Get your Reader Pass </h3><div><p>Your Reader Pass is a library card that gives you free access to our collections and Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire. </p></div><div class="Button_container___MqoV"><a class="Button_button__4srZn Button_primary__Jwbwm" href="/research/reader-pass/">How to register</a></div></div><div class="tile"><img alt="A woman sits studying and taking notes in front of an open book in a British Library Reading Room" loading="lazy" width="325" height="180" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent" src="/research/reading-rooms/women-reading-book-with-cord-in-it.jpg"/><h3>Use our study spaces</h3><div><p>We have 11 Reading Rooms in London and one in Yorkshire, where you can request and see our collection items, or just come to study. </p></div><div class="Button_container___MqoV"><a class="Button_button__4srZn Button_primary__Jwbwm" href="/research/reading-rooms/">Free study areas</a></div></div><div class="tile"><img alt="Shelves at the British Library, holding newspapers and other items" loading="lazy" width="325" height="180" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent" src="/research/reader-pass/old-books2.jpg"/><h3>Order collection items</h3><div><p>Request items from our catalogue of over 170 million items and they'll be waiting for you in our Reading Rooms. </p></div><div class="Button_container___MqoV"><a class="Button_button__4srZn Button_primary__Jwbwm" href="https://bl.libguides.com/requesting">How to request items</a></div></div></div></div><div class="RichText_component__95g1I "><div><h2>More information and resources </h2></div></div><div class="Grid_grid__U0Ir8"><div class="Grid_large__XiafE"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><div class="Grid_box__UXPNl Grid_contentBox__1SB6X"><h2>Research guides</h2><div><p>Our research and collection guides can help you use our catalogue, request collection items to consult, and explore freely available electronic resources.</p></div></div><div class="Grid_box__UXPNl Grid_linkBox___BFSM"><div class=""><a class="Button_button__4srZn Button_secondary__NQ9ql" href="https://bl.libguides.com/">All guides</a></div></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Speak to one of our team</h5><div><p><a href='https://bl.libanswers.com/form?queue_id=2304'>Get in touch</a> with our friendly team. We can help you find what you need.</p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Blogs</h5><div><p>Explore our <a href='https://bl.libguides.com/free-eresources/british-library-blogs'>blogs</a> from curators and teams across the Library.</p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Access digitised content</h5><div><p>Freely available <a href='https://bl.libguides.com/free-eresources'>eresources</a>, selected by our experts and listed by title and subject.</p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>More services</h5><div><p>Information about our <a href='/more'>other services</a>, including <a href='/plr'>Public Lending Right (PLR)</a>, Legal Deposit, British Library On Demand, <a href='/more/digitisation'>digitisation</a> and <a href='/more/collection-metadata-services/'>metadata services</a>.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="RichText_component__95g1I "><div><h3>Other available resources </h3></div></div><div class="Grid_grid__U0Ir8"><div class="Grid_small__o6qGN"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Digitised manuscripts</h5><div><p>Access 1,000 of our <a href='/research/digitised-manuscripts'>digitised manuscripts</a>, including the Sherborne Missal and Octateuch, Four Gospels and Synodicon. </p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_small__o6qGN"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Endangered Archive Programme</h5><div><p>Look at digitised collections items from around the world through our <a href='https://eap.bl.uk/' target='_blank'>Endangered Archive Programme (EAP)</a>. </p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>English Short Title Catalogue</h5><div><p>Access a <a href='https://estc.printprobability.org/' target='_blank'>temporary search interface for the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC)</a>, to search over 480,000 pre-1801 records, many with links to <a href='https://proquest.libguides.com/eebopqp' target='_blank'>Early English Books Online (EEBO)</a>. Created by Nikolai Vogler for the collaborative research project <a href='http://printprobability.org/' target='_blank'>Print & Probability</a>. </p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_small__o6qGN"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Google Books </h5><div><p>Use this <a href='https://www.google.com/webhp?tbm=bks&tbs=bki:lbl' target='_blank'>filtered search</a> to access over 700,000 digitised books from our collection on Google Books.</p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_small__o6qGN"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Research Repository </h5><div><p>Search our open access <a href='https://bl.iro.bl.uk/'>Research Repository</a> for outputs from our staff, open access data sets, 3D models of collection items and content from other heritage organisations.</p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>Theatrical playbills</h5><div><p>The <a href='https://blplaybills.org/' target='_blank'>British Library Playbills collection</a> gives access to 80,000 theatre posters. It includes high resolution images with searchable text of English, Scottish, and Irish playbills made between 1600 and 1902 (mostly 19th century). </p></div></div></div><div class="Grid_medium__4fWIy"><div class="Grid_inner__rBR6B"><h5>International Dunhuang Programme (IDP)</h5><div><p>Explore manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from the Eastern Silk Roads, conserved and digitised as part of the <a href='https://idp.bl.uk/'>International Dunhuang Programme</a>. 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We house the national collection, with many unique items. You can't take books home, but you can use our Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire for personal study and to access our collection. All you need is a free \u003ca href='/research/reader-pass'\u003eReader Pass\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou can also use our public spaces in London for personal study, but you can only consult collection items in our Reading Rooms. Some rooms have a special focus, where you consult a particular type of material, others are more general reading areas. All of them have comfy seats, free Wi-Fi, and staff you can ask for advice. \u003c/p\u003e","limit":null,"link":{"href":"","title":"","isExternal":false}}},{"id":1,"component":"splash","content":{"title":"","text":"\u003ch2\u003eSearch our catalogue\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eExplore an interim version of our main catalogue, which contains the majority of our printed collections, but not everything is included.\u003c/p\u003e","wysiwyg":"\u003cdiv style='text-align:center'\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhat鈥檚 currently available?\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe're continuing to experience disruption to our services because of a \u003ca href='/cyber-incident/'\u003ecyber-attack\u003c/a\u003e. 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