British Library

Photo of the courtyard of the British Library showing a modernist clocktower in the background. Photo of the courtyard of the British Library showing a modernist clocktower in the background.
Photo by me. There's an Origin Coffee kiosk here!

While the British Library is mostly, well, a library, replete with reading rooms and quiet researchers there are frequent events for the general public.

The permanent exhibition - Treasures - lets you see famous manuscripts from throughout history, from the Magna Carta to lyrics from The Beatles.

Free - Paid exhibitions

www.bl.uk

Exhibitions

Building Tour

Friendly guides share stories about how millions of books are looked after, showing visitors around the Library’s reading rooms and hidden spaces.

Free

Architecture

Family Station: Explore and Play

Families can pop in anytime to enjoy hands-on crafts, sensory play items, tactile books and guided trails for exploring the Library together.

Free

Treasures Tour

Visitors can see the huge atlas, King George III’s library and Magna Carta while hearing lively stories and facts shared by the Library team.

Free

Social History

Inventors' Club

Inventors share how they turned bright ideas into real products, with honest talk about challenges, trial runs, production and smart business tips.

Free

Technology

Presencia & Resistencia

An evening of British Latinx writing brings together poets and authors sharing work in Spanish, Portuguese, English and Indigenous languages, plus a video of Peruvian poet Raúl Cisneros reading in Quechua.

Free

Literature

Story Explorers in Leeds

Families can step into three imaginary worlds filled with books, art and curious objects, meet a huge soft octopus and enjoy creative hands-on fun.

Free

Begins

Literature Science