National libraryLondon and Yorkshire

British Library

The national library of the United Kingdom, at St Pancras in London and Boston Spa in West Yorkshire, receiving a copy of what is published in the UK and Ireland under legal deposit.

The story →Visit St Pancras.

The British Library at St Pancras, seen from below

NationalThe library of the United Kingdom

Legal depositUK and Ireland publications

St PancrasEuston Road, London

Boston SpaA Reading Room in Yorkshire

Studying an old book in a Reading Room

The story

Knowledge at its heart.

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Under legal deposit, publishers in the UK and Ireland must give the Library a copy of what they publish.

Its main building is at St Pancras, on Euston Road in London, where the King’s Library stands at the centre, with public study space in front of it. It also has a site with a Reading Room at Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.

“I am honoured to be leading an organisation of expert professionals that has shared knowledge at its heart.”Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive

Dr Paul Bate became Chief Executive on 4 November 2026. The British Library Board is chaired by Dame Carol Black.

The library

Read, study, discover.

A national collection.

Legal deposit

A copy of what the UK and Ireland publish.

St Pancras

The main building on Euston Road.

Reading Rooms

At St Pancras and Boston Spa.

The King’s Library

At the centre of the building.

The library

Pages and reading rooms.

St Pancras and Boston Spa.

The British Library, The British Library at St Pancras, seen from below — The British Library at St Pancras, seen from below

The British Library, Readers in the public study space in front of the King's Library — Readers in the public study space in front of the King's Library

The British Library, Reading a newspaper from the collections at Boston Spa, West Yorkshire — Reading a newspaper from the collections at Boston Spa, West Yorkshire

The British Library, The corner of a highly decorated page — The corner of a highly decorated page

The British Library, Conserving a book in the conservation studio — Conserving a book in the conservation studio

The British Library, Multi spectral imaging of a book — Multi spectral imaging of a book

The British Library, A visitor looks at a large collection item in a gallery — A visitor looks at a large collection item in a gallery

The British Library, Visitors at an illuminated display in a British Library exhibition — Visitors at an illuminated display in a British Library exhibition

The British Library, The Terrace Restaurant — The Terrace Restaurant

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The library

Two sites, one collection.

London and West Yorkshire.

St Pancras

Euston Road, London

The main building.

The King’s Library

At the centre

With public study space in front.

Boston Spa

West Yorkshire

A site with a Reading Room.

Legal deposit

UK and Ireland

A copy of what publishers publish.

The building

St Pancras, London

The national library of the United Kingdom, with the King’s Library at the heart of its St Pancras building.

On Simply Luxury

British Library stories.

Our team’s first British Library stories will appear here as they are published. Meanwhile, explore more in Art.

Visit

Visit St Pancras.

Shared knowledge at its heart.

British Library

96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB

Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 8pm, Friday 9.30am to 6pm, Saturday 9.30am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. Also at Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ.

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BRITISH LIBRARY

Shared knowledge at its heart.

Visit bl.uk More Art

Imagery shown from bl.uk. Every fact on this page is drawn from The British Library’s own website and corroborated by independent sources. Simply Luxury is an independent publication.

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