The British Library is located at 96, Euston Road, London. It is also called the National Library of the UK and was founded in 1973. It holds about 170 million items from many countries and languages from different periods of time. The library holds around 14 million books, including manuscripts and ancient items that are around 4000 years old. It is the largest library in the world and receives copies of books published in the UK. The British Library has an incredible 9.6 kilometres of shelves. There are many books and original manuscripts that are also available in digital form and the library also updates them online. People can access around 30,000 images of many medieval books. The books of Leonardo da Vinci are also digitised here. There are several old books and manuscripts in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery, which is open to the public every day free of charge. The British Library also holds around 20 million sound and moving image recordings. Some of the British Library’s most famous and treasured collections include the Codex Sinaiticus, an ancient 4th century manuscript of the Bible, the Diamond Sutra, the oldest printed book dating from 868, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Moutier-Grandval Abbey Bible and the only original copy of the poem Beowulf.
What tube station is near the British Library?
King’s Cross St Pancras is the nearest London Underground station to the British Library. The station has 8 platforms and is well connected with 7 stations directly. It serves the Victoria line, Hammersmith line, City line, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Circle line and Piccadilly line.
The British Library is only 500 metres from King’s Cross St Pancras tube station and can be reached in 5 minutes via Midland Road. It is a little further by taxi, but depending on traffic it can take up to 4 minutes. Buses run every 6 minutes from the station to the library. King’s Cross St Pancras tube station is in zone 1.
Map of the station closest to the British Library London. Click on the map to enlarge it.
