British Library

Today's visit to the British Library was led by Kevin, a humorous and knowledgeable guide with a passable Carolina accent, thanks to a close acquaintance with a retired officer in the U.S. Air Force from North Carolina.
The British Library is the United Kingdom's national library, a working library whose function by law is to 1. acquire the entire national bibliographic output 2. archive each item in collection forever and 3. make the collection available to all who want to do research. The second function of the library is uniquely illustrated by a bronze sculpture/bench in the lobby of an open book attached to a ball and chain. The British Library functioned as part of the British Museum until 1961, although even after a separate entity was created, the British Library did not have its own building until 1997.
There are approximately 35 million items stored in six floors underneath the British Library located on St. Pancreas in London. More items are stored in two other locations around London, and 40 percent of the collection is housed in West Yorkshire. In total, the British Library has 170 million items, making it the third largest library in the world (the first largest is the Leningrad Library in Moscow, and the second largest is the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.). However, it is the most popular (used) library in the world. In fact, 35 percent of British Library users are researchers from outside the U.K. and nearly every language in the world is represented at the British Library.
The British Library collection originated with the donation of Sir Hans Sloane's extensive personal library to the United Kingdom. (interesting fact: Sloane brought chocolate to the U.K. from Jamaica, selling the recipe to a man named Cadbury). Sloane started a trend and many people left their personal libraries to the British Library after their death. King George III was one of those, and you can see all 13,000 items in his personal collection displayed in a huge glass tower in the center of the British Library; George III stipulated in his will that his library be displayed as well as used. An average of 30 books a day are pulled from his collection.
Anyone can use the British Library, although you do have to apply for a Reading Pass by showing proof of your home address and proof of identity. There is no shelf browsing, so you have to know exactly what item you're looking for. Fortunately, the British Library has an extensive, searchable catalogue. And speaking of catalogue, the items in the British Library are catalogued according to Anglo-Amercian Cataloguing Rules and shelved -- like the St. Paul's Library -- according to size. Space is at such a premium here libraries must use what they have as efficiently as possible.
One of the best things about visiting the British Library today was getting to see some of their rare and original items. Here are just a few of the items they have on display: the original Beowulf manuscript, the Wycliffe Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus, a hand-written short story and letter by Jane Austen. A hand-written draft of Jane Eyre, the second oldest copy of Hebrews (written on the back of a Latin history of Rome), music scores by Purcell, Mozart, Handel and others... it gives me chills! So amazing.