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Profiles
of major UK archives
Below
are the main national institutions that you may need to visit. Click
on the tabs to view a brief profile of each with links to their
websites.
Many
local, county or specialist archives will be of equal, if not greater,
relevance. Advice about contacting them is provided in the online
tutorial but the National Register
of Archives is a good place to start -
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Profile:
British Library
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Location
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96
Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
(central London)
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| Related
Repositories or other branches |
British
Newspaper Library
Colindale Avenue
London NW9 5HE
(North London)
Document Supply Centre reading room
Boston Spa
Wetherby
W Yorks LS23 7BQ
(Yorkshire)
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| Contact
Details |
Reader
services
Tel: 020 7412 7676 (main enquiries)
Tel :020 7412 7353 (Colindale)
Tel :01937 546070 (Boston Spa)
Fax: 020 7412 7609(main enquiries)
Fax: 020 7412 7379 (Colindale)
Email: reader-services-enquiries@bl.uk;
Email: newspaper@bl.uk
(Colindale)
Web: http://www.bl.uk
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| Travel
Links |
Rail:
King's Cross / St Pancras for mainline and underground
rail links.
Bus: various to King's Cross Station / St Pancras.
5 mins walk from Kings Cross / St Pancras &
Euston
Road: not advised, no parking onsite.
Colindale: Northern Line tube station, 5 mins walk.
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| Opening
Hours |
Humanities
1&2, Rare Books & Sound Archive, Science
and Business and Intellectual Property Centre
M: 10.00 - 20.00
Tu-Th: 09.30 - 20.00
F, S: 09.30 - 17.00
Oriental & India Office Library (O&IL),
Maps, Manuscripts
M: 10.00 - 17.00
Tu-S: 09.30 - 17.00
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| Entry
Requirements |
Reader
pass required for entry to reading rooms; application
form to be filled out at reader admissions, plus
details of why you need to use the library.
2 forms of ID required (proof of home address and
signature - GB bankers card, passport or GB drivers
licence).
Tickets valid for up to 5 years depending on requirement.
Some collections may require letter of introduction
to view.
Induction tours available (1 hour, booked from reception).
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| Archive
Layout |
Lower
ground: cloakrooms, lockers (£1 refundable)
Upper ground: reception, reader admission, exhibitions,
shop, café.
First floor: Humanities 1, Rare Books & Sound
Archive, Science 1 (patents), Business and Intellectual
Property
Centre, restaurant.
Second floor: Humanities 2, Manuscripts, Science
2.
Third floor: Maps, O&IL, Science 3.
Toilets on each floor, lifts available.
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| Facilities |
Café
on ground floor, coffees and snacks; restaurant
on first floor, pricey but wide selection of hot
and cold food - variety of external retail outlets
within walking distance.
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| Collections |
Humanities
- printed books post 1851, plus periodicals, theses.
Rare Books & Music - all books published before
1851, plus music collections.
Maps - large collection of maps, atlases and cartographic
material, 15th century to date.
Manuscripts - hand-written Western European manuscripts,
all disciplines, 4th century BC to date.
O&IL - diverse material form Asia and North
East Africa, including East India Company records
and British administration of India.
Science - patents, life sciences, technologies,
official publications, business information.
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| References
& Catalogues |
Catalogue:
available online http://blpc.bl.uk
and via computer terminals in the reading rooms.
There are also printed catalogues (and on microform)
in the reading rooms for material not yet online
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| Document
Ordering |
Online
ordering for collections except in Manuscripts -
you have to ask for tickets that are written by
hand. Seat numbers required, obtained from each
room.
Last orders will vary from room to room - ask at
the appropriate desk.
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| Research
Notes |
Can
be a bewildering place to start research, so ask
at the desks for advice.
Wide collection of material, so you may need to
move from room to room.
References can be difficult to obtain, and it may
take a while to orientate oneself with the online
catalogue.
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