British Library

@britishlibrary

We’re the national library of the UK.

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British Library@britishlibrary· 2d

It's National Book Lovers Day 📚 What's the one book you've recommended more than any other? Ours? The team's been sharing their favourite summer reads over on the British Library Shop blog shop.bl.uk/blogs/blog-p...

British Library@britishlibrary· 3d

Happy World Cat Day 🐈 Cats have been making appearances in books, manuscripts and illustrations for centuries. Here are some of our favourites from the collection... and some of our favourite attempts at cats... Which one's your favourite?

an abstract illustration of a black cat sat on a windy branch of a tree. The cat has bright orange eyes and looks moody.

Section of a page from a medieval manuscript. The drawing shows a dishevelled looking cat-like figure stood up on its hind legs playing the fiddle

a black and white illustration of a young girl and a cat in a field. The young girl is stood on the right, she has messy dark curly hair and is wearing a white nightie and holding a doll behind her back with one hand. With her other hand she is wagging her finger like she is telling the cat off. The cat is to the left of the image and looking up attentively at the young girl. The cat is black and white.

Section from a page of a medieval manuscript. The pages are yellowing slightly. There is text written in Medieval English and an elaborate blue, orange and grey drawing of a cats head poking out of a shell.

British Library@britishlibrary· 5d

Today's excuse to read a little poetry: it's Lord Alfred Tennyson's birthday 🎈 We're celebrating with an extract of The Palace of Art - which of his poems is your favourite?

A photograph of Lord Alfred Tennyson. He is a white man, with a long beard that appears to be graying at the end. He is wearing a suit and is sat in a chair reading a book.

A page from a book fo poems by Lord Alfred Tennyson. This shows a black and sepia toned illustration of inside a castle or fortress, focusing particularly on a woman playing an organ on a wooden bridge. She is leaning back and being kissed on the forehead by a man in a large cloak. In the foreground, you can see an armed soldier with a helmet and spear eating an apple, and to his right is a seagull. In the background, you can see soldiers defending the castle from the turets, loading canons, and lots of ships out at sea. Text below the illustration reads: The Palace of Art (which is the title of the poem), and the first stanza: 'I built my soul a lordly pleasure-house, Wherein at ease for aye to dwell. I said, "O Soul, make merry and carouse, Dear soul, for all is well."

British Library@britishlibrary· 6d

What’s one of the oldest objects you’ve seen that genuinely made you stop and stare? We’ll go first: a copy of Homer’s Odyssey in Ancient Greek, printed in Venice in 1488 that we got to take a look at today 📚

Photograph of a large old book. The book is bound in bright red leather cover which has gold engravings around the edge. In the middle there is also a gold crest, signifying the book is from King George IIIs library.

Photograph of inside the book from the previous image. Page shows the first page of Homer’s Odyssey written in Ancient Greek. The pages are visibly old, and are a darker beige with darkened edges.

British Library@britishlibrary· 8d

Library and archive professionals – don't miss the EPICo Conference 2026 hosted here at the Library this autumn We’ll be exploring collaborative approaches to the management and preservation of physical library collections From 30 Sept – 2 Oct Find out more and book your place link.bl.uk/epico

Photograph of dozens of old books from the Library's Collection. They mostly have deep red covers, with gold accents and dark brown pages. They are all on shelves, awaiting to be placed on a conveyor belt the Library uses to send items around the Library.

British Library@britishlibrary· 11d

Friday afternoons look rather lovely from here ☀️ However you're spending the weekend, we hope you find time for something that sparks your curiosity

British Library@britishlibrary· 12d

Born on this day in 1818, Emily Brontë gave us some of literature's most unforgettable lines 💜 Here are five of our favourites from Wuthering Heights...

British Library@britishlibrary· 14d

Exciting news - the British Newspaper Archive's new platform is here Explore millions of digitised pages of newspapers and other publications from our British and Irish collections, dating as far back as the 1700s We can't wait to get exploring 🗞 link.bl.uk/7ci

Graphic image featuring four front pages of old British newspapers. Text reads: Welcome to the new. The British Newspaper Archive.

British Library@britishlibrary· 16d

Happy #NationalDogPhotographyDay to every four-legged friend patiently waiting while someone says, "Just one more chapter" 💗

Sepia-toned photograph from 1886 showing an excited dog waiting at the edge of a lake. The dog's tail is wagging so fast it's blurry. Behind the lake are mountains. The photograph has a border and at the bottom someone has written: The Shandour Lake.

British Library@britishlibrary· 17d

Some weekends are made for getting lost in a good book. What's everyone reading this weekend? We need some recs 🖌A Child’s Garden of Verses by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1905 Source: 11650.h.36 frontispiece

Painting of a young girl. She has short tousled brown hair and is wearing a white dress, white tights and black mary jane shoes. She is sat in a window seat, avidly enjoying a book. Around her are more books, ready to be devoured next. Outside the sun shines and is coming in through the window.

British Library@britishlibrary· 18d

Our kind of Friday evening 📚

a photograph of the outside of the British Library from the main road by St Pancras station. The sky is a bright clear blue, the building is large and built with red bricks and has a large yellow sign on it that reads : British Library. Below people are talking and walking around in the sunshine.

British Library@britishlibrary· 27d

Couldn’t help but notice a few words sticking out to us in our manuscript collection, think it might be a sign... #itscominghome

British Library@britishlibrary· 27d

"St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain. St. Swithin's day if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain nae mair." Looks like this heatwave is sticking around a little longer - 40 days of sun here we come ☀️ 🎨Splendor Solis, 1582. Harley 3469, f.33v.

A beautiful painting of a huge bring orange sun looming over a medieval city. In the foreground is a woodland, and surrounding the image is a bright gold border with various birds and frogs, as well as lots of colourful flowers and strawberries. The painting is situated within a book from the 1500s.

British Library@britishlibrary· Jul 10

Currently wishing we were here with a good book 🥵 (ps we have aircon if anyone needs to cool off) 🎨 Kriegs Flugblätter des Simplicissimus by Carl Lendecke & Friedrich Otto, 1914; F60136-34

Painting of two individuals on a beach. They are both sat in deck chairs, the man is lying back on the left smoking a cigarette, whilst the woman is fiddling with a parasol trying to set it up.

British Library@britishlibrary· Jul 9

Exciting news - our online platform of over 650,000 metadata records of UK doctoral theses (EThOS) is now available again  Find out more about EThOS and how to use it on our website link.bl.uk/kxk

Photograph taken from above showing a man working at his laptop at the British Library.

British Library@britishlibrary· Jul 2

Have you ever wondered what secrets lie in your favourite poet’s notebook? In her latest blog, manuscripts cataloguer, Lara Mayr, discusses the importance of notebooks held in the archive of poet & translator Michael Hamburger & the invaluable insight they offer Read all about it📚 link.bl.uk/blmh

An open notebook showing a handwritten inscription and date on the left-hand side and handwritten poem translation draft on the right, both written in blue ink.

An open lined notebook showing a handwritten list of trees, written in black and blue ink, held open by a snake weight.

An open notebook showing handwritten dated diary entries written in blue ink, held open by snake weight in bottom left corner.

A torn open notebook with damaged edges showing handwritten lists of poems and payments in red, blue and red ink.

British Library@britishlibrary· Jul 1

Test the use of local AI in improving access and interpretation of born-digital archives in this funded fellowship Apply by 15 July link.bl.uk/4j9

British Library@britishlibrary· Jul 1

Help widen the knowledge and understanding of newspapers in our collection from Commonwealth countries in this funded fellowship Apply by 15 July link.bl.uk/jy5

British Library@britishlibrary· Jul 1

Come and spend the next academic year embedded in our curatorial teams Two exciting fellowships are open to postdoctoral, early-career researchers which can be undertaken over 12-months full-time or part-time equivalent, as part of the Joanna and Graham Barker Fellowship Scheme Find out more👇

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 30

Please note the Treasures Gallery will be closed tomorrow morning (Wednesday 1 July), reopening at 13.00. We're sorry for any inconvenience.

An open illustrated volume inside a glass case in the British Library's Treasures Gallery.

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 25

A banned writer. A rebel printer. A fake place of publication. Discover how Pietro Aretino's works continued to circulate despite censorship, and what one remarkable book reveals about queer literary history. Read more here: link.bl.uk/oge

Portrait of Aretino from an Italian edition of the Ragionamenti (Venice, 1539) C.133.d.12.

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 22

Please be aware of closures at our St Pancras site this week. Our Treasures Gallery will be closed on Friday 26 June and the entire building will be closed on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June for essential maintenance work. See the latest updates on our website here: link.bl.uk/5ym

A red brick building with a tall clock tower

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 18

Are you a writer working on a book about the Americas? Apply for the 2027 Eccles Institute & @hayfestival.bsky.social Global Writer’s Award for the chance to win £20,000, alongside a residency at the Library to research and develop your project. Find out more bl.uk/writers-award

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 9

Discover how archivists and librarians in Lesotho are developing new digitisation skills through a partnership led by the National University of Lesotho, funding from the British Embassy in Lesotho and supported by the British Library. link.bl.uk/nlj #InternationalArchivesDay

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 8

Delve into our expansive European collections in a brand-new, funded Mainz Visiting Fellowship. We’re inviting proposals exploring three themes: revolutions, word and image, movement of people and ideas. Apply by 21 June > link.bl.uk/4le

British Library@britishlibrary· Jun 2

Primary school teachers, celebrate the art of guidebooks and the magic of unusual and wonderful places with your Key Stage 2 students in this creative, interactive session supporting reading and writing for pleasure. Book your place > link.bl.uk/63m

British Library@britishlibrary· May 29

Reminder: Our St Pancras site will be closed this weekend (Saturday 30 – Sunday 31 May) for essential maintenance work. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Find out more here: link.bl.uk/5ym

British Library@britishlibrary· May 21

Dive into our sound archive and respond to our collection of Black music from across the Americas in our funded creative fellowship with the Eccles Institute. Apply by 2 June: link.bl.uk/uo8

British Library@britishlibrary· May 21

Develop your practice through a funded, creative fellowship examining art, climate and the Amazon through our expansive Americas collections, with the Eccles Institute. Apply by 2 June: link.bl.uk/6wp

British Library@britishlibrary· May 21

Are you an artist interested in working with our collection? Apply for a funded creative fellowship with the Eccles Institute to explore one of two expansive areas of our Americas collection. Find out more 👇