The British Museum Library & Archive. 12 June 2018

Tuesday. 12 June 2018
The British Museum Library
http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/libraries_and_archives.aspx

The Great Court of the British Museum.

The LIS group was treated to the rare experience of touring the beautiful and historic Reading Room at the British Museum. The BM is the most popular attraction in England logging 7 million visitors each year.  It was founded with the concept that the museum will be “free to all studious and curious persons”. The Library Reading Room inspired by the Pantheon in Rome has been closed to the public since 2013, but we were given the incredible opportunity to go inside (most museum staff have never been in the Reading Room!). Our tour was led by Francesca Hillier, Museum Archivist who has worked for the British Museum for 12 years and is only the second qualified archivist employed at the library. Francesca is a staff of one, who relies on volunteers to help with responding to the 2000 inquiries received each year. Questions such as “Where did Karl Marx sit in the Reading Room” and “Where did the giraffes featured in the Museum come from?” The giraffe question took some research. Francesca pored through books and eventually discovered that at the time of acquisition, giraffes were called “camel leopards”. Personal note--I shall call giraffes "camel leopards" from now on.

This beautiful panoramic photograph of the British Museum Reading Room is from Francesca Hillier's blog. Link below.

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/x1613186588-Panorama-Feb-2006.jpg.pagespeed.ic.UHsPPQ7hbs.webp

In December of 1753 a National Collection was established at the BM and Trustees were chosen by government officials. The Chair of the Trustees was none other than the Archbishop of Canterbury. At one time a Secretum room existed which housed “controversial” items. If an individual wished to see a questionable item, he/she wrote to the Archbishop asking for permission and had to have a valid reason for doing so. Presently 400,000 books are on site at the Museum, but the building was never intended to be a library. Looking around the room, we saw bound volumes of papers titled “Original Papers” which does not provide useful descriptive detail of the contents inside. I also saw a box labeled in sharpie, “photos of various events”. Again, not too helpful in the search of a specific item or something from a particular date or time. Francesca has her work cut out for her, identifying and cataloging the records and artifacts presently held in the library. The British Museum is also in the process of applying to become an accredited archive, and Francesca has much to prepare and document in order for this to happen.

The impressive Reading Room was built in 1855 and was fitted with floor to ceiling bookcases complete with secret doors to access storage and other areas behind the collection (see photo below). Looking from above, the room is laid out like a keyhole with the center of the keyhole (the key to knowledge, perhaps?) the Reference/Enquiry Desk. Reading desks with lamps and green leather surfaces are plentiful.

Francesca Hillier sharing treasures with the LIS group.

The archive is located beneath the Reading Room and we were told the area has been badly neglected. Francesca recently discovered mold on items, which rapidly spread and she ended up having to remove 1000 items to be treated and restored.  This obviously needed to be done but it was risky to remove items from the site without them being properly catalogued first. Another challenge Francesca faces is that she has no budget with which to work—no money for conservation, staff, digitization, etc. Occasionally, requests are fielded to borrow items from the BM.  This is the only time an item is sent to be valued and conserved--before it is sent away for education or exhibition purposes.

Oscar Wilde's signature from the Reading Room register dated 1879.

The opening page of the British Museum Act of 1753 which created the British Museum.

Photo from Francesca Hillier's Blog. link below.

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/montagu-house-the-first-british-museum/

An unusual library artifact - an incendiary bomb from WWII which damaged the museum.
The British Museum actually served as an air raid shelter during wartime.

Historical photograph of the Reading Room. 

The Montagu House was the first building to house the British Museum collection.
Deeds, plans and budgets from the transactions in 1755 are held at the Reading Room.

Today's visit was a rare opportunity and very much appreciated by the LIS group.