Take a closer look at Emily Brontë's personal copy of Poems, signed and dated in her hand. Which is your favourite Brontë poem? 🤔

Our Reading Rooms will open at 10.30 tomorrow, Thursday 12 November. The rest of the building will be open as normal at 9.30. We're sorry for any inconvenience.

Imagine coming across notebooks of handwritten poetry by your favourite writer 📖 Before Wuthering Heights came a wealth of poetry, 'vigorous and genuine'. Emily Brontë’s passion for poetry can be seen in two notebooks of handwritten poems, each carefully transcribed and dated

Huge congratulations are in order for China Miéville, who won the Goldsmith Prize for fiction last night 👏 Earlier this week, China hosted an event at the Library talking all about his award-winning book, The Rouse Watch it for free here link.bl.uk/oxp

The shortist for the 2027 Eccles Institute and @hayfestival.bsky.social Writer’s Award is here Congratulations to - Alexa Hagerty - Daniella Sánchez Russo - Hanna Limulja - Nick Makoha - Jeremías Gamboa - Natalia Sobrevilla Perea The winners will be announced on Tuesday 17 November link.bl.uk/361

Halloween may be over, but we can never get enough of Dracula 🩸 Take a closer look at our first edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, one of the first vampire novels published in English. 📗Dracula by Bram Stoker, First edition 1897. Shelfmark: Cup.410.f.718

’Twas the morning of Halloween, and you still haven't sorted your costume... Take a look in our collection for something a bit more unusual – a wicker giant, perhaps? Which one are you going as? 🎃

Today @britishlibrary.bsky.social you can see not one, not two, but THREE of our former guests/damned souls: @robinince.bsky.social, @joannechocolat.bsky.social, & @gralefrit.bsky.social It’s the ‘Tales of the Weird’ festival! Looks great. Get yourselves down there! events.bl.uk/events/tales...

Tales of the Weird – An Autumnal Festival | British Library

Some of our finest writers and connoisseurs of the weird gather in the Autumnal gloom for a day of conversations, readings and more.Hosted by writer and co

events.bl.uk

It’s here✨ Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery is now open Explore atmospheric galleries, see objects on display for the very first time and discover the inspirations behind her unforgettable and beloved stories and characters We can’t wait to welcome you into the world of the Queen of Crime

Step into Far, Far Away, our illuminated fairy tale at Light Night Leeds inspired by stories in our collections by Lightspray Visual. Join us this evening on Briggate from 18.00 – 21.30.

Our exhibition all about the Queen of Crime opens tomorrow. We can’t wait 🔍 Supported by @gwr.com With thanks to Newby Teas In collaboration with Agatha Christie Limited #AgathaChristie

We’re so pleased to share that the UK Web Archive has been restored and available to use 💻 You can now search millions of archived UK websites. Find out more about the archive and how to use it on our website link.bl.uk/mis

UK Web Archive restored

We’re pleased to share that the UK Web Archive is back and that you can now search millions of archived UK websites.

link.bl.uk

From provision grounds to recipe zines, food can tell us powerful stories about the past. British Library Research Fellow Carmen Andall-Woodroofe explores food-growing traditions in Britain’s former Caribbean colonies and their significance to enslaved people

From early drafts to the finished novel: we’re so excited to share that the archive of A S Byatt is joining the British Library collection 📚 Read all about it here in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/books/2026/o...

‘I know I can do anything’: new archive of AS Byatt’s papers looks inside the writer’s extraordinary mind

The Booker-wining author of Possession was known for her voracious research. Now, 68 boxes of her notebooks, letters and diaries acquired by the British Library reveal how she assembled the raw materi...

theguardian.com

Are you 18–24 and looking for your next creative opportunity? Join the British Library Youth Collective You'll get to build new skills, shape our programme, meet brilliant people AND get paid for your time But don’t just take our word for it... Applications close Sunday 15 November link.bl.uk/46f

Maps 🤝 climate change Maps do far more than just help us find our way. Nick Dykes, our Curator of Modern Maps, compares two maps of an Icelandic glacier, made decades apart, to show us how our world is changing. #GreenLibrariesWeek

Got a cuppa? ☕️ Here’s a Sunday morning read to get your teeth into   What connects Machiavelli, the Italian language and the humble sandwich? Find out in our latest blog, celebrating the Week of the Italian Language in the World   www.bl.uk/stories/blog...

Brilliant Italian: Machiavelli and the concept of sandwich

To mark 2026’s Week of Italian Language in the World we take a look at the brilliance and plasticity of Italian.

bl.uk

How do we understand climate change beyond the science? 🌍 For #GreenLibrariesWeek, explore our Social Sciences Subject Librarian’s selection of books from our collection looking at climate change and society link.bl.uk/9zi

A little reminder that due to essential maintenance works the Library in St Pancras will be closing at 17:30 today and our Shop, Science Reading Rooms and Reader Registration will be closed over the weekend. Item requests will be limited during this time - thank you for your understanding

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 3w ago

Visiting us this weekend? Due to essential maintenance work, the main St Pancras building will have various closures over the weekend. On Friday 23 October, the main St Pancras building will close at 17.30. Events in the Knowledge Centre and Pigott Theatre will go ahead as planned.

Green Libraries Week has begun and we've put together a guide to help spot reliable climate information – from a list of trusted sources to a climate claims checklist ✅ Do you use AI as a starting point for research or a final source? Take a look at our guide: link.bl.uk/climate-facts

Climate facts for a greener future

We’ve put together a guide on how to spot reliable climate information.

link.bl.uk

‘You cannot fold a flood, And put it in a drawer’ — Emily Dickinson In this case, you could 📗 Susan Lowdermilk’s handcrafted book reminds us of the beauty of nature and the power of natural forces during #GreenLibrariesWeek. © Susan Lowdermilk, YOU Cannot Put a Fire Out

Visiting us this weekend? Due to essential maintenance work, the main St Pancras building will have various closures over the weekend. On Friday 23 October, the main St Pancras building will close at 17.30. Events in the Knowledge Centre and Pigott Theatre will go ahead as planned.

Temporary building closures for essential maintenance

We’ll be carrying out essential maintenance work at our St Pancras site over the coming months.

link.bl.uk

Wishing we were here right now watching the rain outside...

Please be aware that our Customer Services & Box Office teams are unavailable today this afternoon Normal service will resume from 09.30 tomorrow - we apologise for any inconvenience caused You can still contact our Reference team with any collection related questions here link.bl.uk/5b53e9

How do you stop an epidemic? In 902 CE, one Chinese governor turned to Buddhist rituals - ordering monks and nuns to perform chanting and confessions to end an outbreak Discover the remarkable manuscripts that preserve this story with Professor Stephen F. Teiser on 30 October link.bl.uk/6c91a8

It’s Oscar Wilde’s birthday – and we’ve been giving one of his notebooks a little extra attention Swipe to see how our conservator repaired its fragile pages and damaged binding to make it Reading Room ready

What does it really cost to make knowledge open? 🔓 From people & technology to funding & the environment, explore the challenges of making knowledge accessible & sustainable at our annual Open and Engaged Conference for #OAWeek 📅 20 October | Online 🔗 link.bl.uk/7nl #OpenAccessWeek #OpenEngaged

Only one week to go until #GreenLibrariesWeek 💚 We'll be hosting lots of free events from 21 - 28 October - from creative writing workshops, historical lectures, zine-making workshops and more link.bl.uk/bid

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last mo.

Only one month to go until Green Libraries Week💚 This year we'll be hosting free events and activities for all ages - from creative writing workshops and readings to screenings and historical lectures 21 - 28 October - see you there? Full programme here link.bl.uk/bid #GreenLibrariesWeek

A very important day in the Hundred Acre Wood - Winnie-the-Pooh is turning 100 🍯 Our Lead Curator Alison Bailey takes us through some of the pieces selected from our collection to feature in a free special display in our Treasures Gallery

We’re currently experiencing some technical issues with our Electronic Legal Deposit Catalogue. Our team are working hard to get this resolved, so please bear with us. Thank you for your understanding 📚