Sparking imaginations. Creating opportunities Celebrating impact, powered by our supporters and partners 2024 /25
A year of transition and momentum We’re proud to share this year’s report, highlighting just some of the work made possible thanks to our donors and partners.
Over the last year teams across the Library have continued to move forward with an extraordinary range of programmes and services that have – or will have – a positive impact on people of all ages. These include:
• acquiring and sharing r emarkable new collection items, enriching research and for public enjoyment • inspiring thousands of childr en and families, laying strong foundations for their futures • helping to spark fr esh ideas, launch new businesses and create jobs through the people who access our collections and data • bringing powerful stories to life thr ough exhibitions and events, reaching audiences across the UK and around the world • r eaching a major milestone in our long-term plans to transform the Library in London and Yorkshire, while also continuing to move forward from the 2023 cyber-attack.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Right: Beyond the Bassline exhibition at St Pancras.
We hope the stories in this
report inspire you to join us
now and in the years ahead
Learning
253,859 children and
families participated in
learning programmes
Growth
2,225km of new storage
under construction in Boston Spa
Live events 50,000 in-person or digital attendees to our live events, featuring famous names and fascinating people
Small businesses
40,877 entrepreneurs
received help to start or grow
small businesses across the
Business & IP Centre (BIPC)
National Network
Collection care 5,600 items benefitted from conservation and pre-digitisation work by our expert teams
- 6
visits to British Library-inspired
exhibitions worldwide
million
Our transformation in London
This year marked significant milestones in our ambition to transform the Library,
with new spaces and facilities that will enhance our global impact.
At St Pancras, our partner Mitsui Fudosan confirmed one
of the largest inward investments into the UK by a Japanese
business – the confirmation needed to begin work on a major
extension to our iconic London home.
Once constructed the total 600,000 sq ft extension will
include 100,000 sq ft of new Library space, for state-of-the-
art learning facilities, exhibition galleries, public event spaces
and to deliver greater business support opportunities.
We’ll be working closely with philanthropists and funding
partners to raise the funds needed to fit out these spaces
and bring them to life, to help millions more people seeking
inspiration and enjoyment.
Above these new public facilities, world-class commercial
space will be made available for data and life sciences
companies in a major expansion of the UK’s science capacity
– both in scale and strategic significance.
Our work at St Pancras is part of a far wider ambition for the
Library, north and south. It also includes major developments
at our longstanding facilities in Boston Spa, which powers the
Library’s work, and exploring opportunities for a new British
Library in the heart of Leeds.
Right: An artist’s impression of the St Pancras building extension. © RSHP .
100,000 sq ft
of new world-class
Library space
Building our collections for
future generations
Keeping the UK’s heritage safe and accessible
is at the heart of what we do. Last year we
acquired more items of national significance
that we will make available to everyone.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters we raised
nearly £1.3 million towards heritage acquisitions.
Among the many standout items are letters from the Victorian poet
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the archive of poet and playwright John
Galsworthy and a remarkable collection of rare medieval manuscripts
from the Longleat estate.
The Longleat manuscripts are already having a major impact.
Digitised and available online, they’ve received widespread media
attention, and featured in an exclusive interview with our curator
Julian Harrison on a special episode of Tom Holland’s The Rest is
History podcast.
These acquisitions were made possible thanks to the support of the
National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Friends of the Nations’
Libraries, the British Library Collections Trust, the American Trust for
the British Library, and private individuals. We are deeply grateful.
Right: Richard Rolle’s The Form of Living and related works: Add MS 89790, 126r.
“ Each of these five
magnificent manuscripts
offer unique perspectives
and glimpses into medieval
life, religion and society.
Now, in their new home at the British Library and through digitisation, they can be discovered and enjoyed by people across the UK and beyond. ” Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Heritage Memorial Fund
“ It has been a privilege to work on these manuscripts.
As someone who has worked in conservation for almost 20 years, iconic objects such as the accounts of Mary, Queen of Scots never cease to amaze and are a prime example of the wonder of the British Library’s cultural heritage collection. ” Kim Mulder, Conservator of the Mary, Queen of Scots Account
Right: Parchment repairs on manuscript accounts relating to Mary, Queen of Scots. Caring for our collections Thanks to an extraordinary community of donors our conservation work helps us to protect and preserve even more of our remarkable items.
The knowledge held in our collections gives us a deeper
understanding of the past and can inspire fresh ideas for the
future. That’s why the work of our expert conservation teams
is so vital. They ensure these stories can be shared safely now,
and for generations to come.
Thanks to supporters of our conservation appeal, we’ve completed
work on a range of fascinating items, including two 500-year-
old rolls of accounts detailing the daily life of the royal prisoner,
Mary, Queen of Scots. Intricate parchment repairs have made
these manuscripts accessible to the public once again and reveal
everything from her creature comforts to her favourite foods.
The generosity of a donor also enabled us to acquire new specialist
equipment, unlocking the potential for further new discoveries.
The new technology identifies pigments and dyes in our most
beautiful, illuminated manuscripts, meaning our conservators can
make the safest and most effective decisions on treatment. It’s
already become an essential part of their toolkit.
Thanks to this type of support, we can preserve more of the past,
and help unlock new discoveries for the future.
355 donors
raised £39,500
towards vital
conservation work
Our groundbreaking exhibitions
Every year our exhibitions bring powerful stories
and voices to life – igniting curiosity, conversation
and connections across the UK and beyond.
In Medieval Women: In Their Own Words we explored the lives and
voices of women in the Middle Ages. A highlight was a letter from Joan
of Arc featuring the earliest-known example of her signature that had
never been displayed outside of France since it was written in 1429. The
exhibition combined rare items from our collections with significant loans,
alongside a rich programme of events, school workshops and a companion
book of essays.
We’re grateful to Joanna and Graham Barker and the Unwin Charitable
Trust for their generous support and Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a
donor-advised fund held at The London Community Foundation.
Beyond the Bassline was the first major exhibition to explore the 500-year
impact of Black British music. It celebrated the clubs, carnivals, stages and
kerbside auditoriums, alongside the people and voices that contribute to a
vibrant scene that continues to shape British music as a whole.
Live performances from Soul II Soul and Ezra Collective brought music
to the Library, as did MC D Double E’s Rhyme-Antics, supported by
G-SHOCK.
Join us for more thought-provoking, illuminating and perspective-
changing exhibitions in the year ahead.
Left: Beyond the Bassline exhibition © Terna Jogo. Right: Medieval Women exhibition.
Beyond the Bassline
was named Temporary
or Touring Exhibition of
the Year at the Museums
- Heritage Awards
66,000 people
visited the Medieval Women exhibition Live events enjoyed by audiences around the world
Every week our public events shine a spotlight on the world through powerful conversations, performances and live experiences.
From literature to history, LGBTQ+ stories to the climate
emergency, you can discover them all through our events – in
person at the Library, or online via our live-streaming service.
For the past seven years Food Season has transformed
the Library into a delicious hub of culinary exploration
like nowhere else. From tastings and talks to martini
masterclasses and medieval feasts, featured icons include
Prue Leith, Nadiya Hussain, Jamie Oliver and Angela Hartnett.
Our 2024 Food Season was no different, supported for the
first time by our sponsoring partner Miele. Household names,
rising stars, writers and historians explored the role of food in
shaping our identity and culture.
We’re thrilled Miele returned as our partner for Food Season
2025, helping us to continue serving bold ideas and brilliant
conversations.
50,000 people
participated in one
of our live events
Right: Food Season event on the Piazza.
Empowering young people with skills for the future
We work with thousands of young people each year to build their practical skills
and confidence – preparing them for the future.
One such programme is our Young Creators Lab, a
groundbreaking digital co-creation project sparking global
conversations inspired by our collections. Thanks to the
support of the Helen Hamlyn Trust, we offered 24 creators
aged 18 – 24 a platform to explore, experiment and grow
– developing digital content, building skills and gaining
confidence for the future.
Two groups of Young Creators produced content for our social
media channels:
• The first explor ed our music archives and Beyond the
Bassline exhibition. They dived into the legacy of Notting
Hill Carnival and traced a single music sample from the
1970s to today
• The second focused on changemakers – activists, authors
and orators who used words to empower marginalised
communities and spark social change.
Participants developed skills in filmmaking, storytelling and
content creation, alongside core skills including research and
information literacy.
For the Library, their work brought fresh perspectives to our
platforms and helped younger audiences to connect with our
collections in new ways. On TikTok alone our followers have
grown by 138%, supported by their creativity and insight.
We’re proud to have championed the next generation of
cultural storytellers and excited to see where their creativity
takes them next as they continue to work with the Library
as part of a newly-formed youth collective.
Over 1 million
views on TikTok,
YouTube and Instagram
Right: Young Creators filming content.
“ This has influenced how I am in the rest of my life. I speak
up now and ask for things instead of keeping quiet.”
Our growing impact in Yorkshire
Our cultural and learning programmes in Leeds and surrounding areas continues
to thrive – building skills and inspiring communities.
We have ambitious plans to open a new British Library in
Leeds, where the Ministry for Housing, Communities and
Local Government has confirmed a £10 million investment
to breathe fresh life into Holbeck’s historic Temple Works
building – paving the way for it to become the British Library
in the north. It’s part of a wider transformation of the Leeds
South Bank, supporting regeneration and impact at a local,
regional and national level.
Ahead of that, we’ve been collaborating with local people and
partners to deliver a rich and inspiring learning programme for
the region’s children and families, alongside major exhibitions
and displays.
Thanks to a three-year grant from Old Possum’s Practical
Trust, we are working with local primary and secondary
schools, as well as local institutions such as Royal Armouries
and Thackray Museum of Medicine to boost young people’s
skills, opportunities and cultural experiences.
Our in-school workshops and cultural study days are
improving literacy skills, which have a powerful impact on
life outcomes, through creative writing, storytelling, poetry
and our immensely popular digital resources.
School requests for this programme have far exceeded
expectations, and we are now seeking further support to
meet demand to work with even more pupils and teachers
across the city.
Right: Schools activity in Leeds. Photo by Jules Lister.
“ Honestly, I can’t say enough how much
of an impact you’ve made on the children.”
Teacher attending Gothic Literature study day.
48% schools in Leeds have
engaged with our Learning
programmes since 2020
Transforming Boston Spa:
the engine of the Library
Work is underway to transform our home in West Yorkshire – unlocking the power of
our collections for millions more people, while building a greener future for generations
to come.
Our 44-acre Boston Spa campus is the engine behind the
Library. It holds around 130 million items, or three-quarters
of our national collections, ready for people north and south
seeking knowledge or inspiration. But with 8 km of new
shelving needed each year, as every new item published
in the UK is added, we’re rapidly running out of space.
By the end of the decade our current storage will be full.
That’s why we’re not just expanding, we’re reimagining
how we care for and share the nation’s knowledge. Thanks
to major government investment and legacy grant support
from The Foyle Foundation, work is underway on a world-
leading, low-carbon storage facility.
Once completed in 2026 this cutting-edge development
will significantly increase our capacity while reducing our
environmental impact – helping us meet the UK’s target
of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It’s a bold
step forward in sustainable preservation.
We’re also opening-up access like never before. The new
Foyle Learning Centre and Foyle Viewing Gallery will
welcome learners of all ages, from across Yorkshire and
beyond, connecting more people with the stories, ideas
and discoveries held in our collections.
This is more than a building project. It’s a transformation of
how we preserve, share and inspire – now and for the future.
Right: Architect’s impression of the viewing gallery of the proposed new storage facility at Boston Spa. Slab / Carmody Groake.
A national library – for everyone
Our work across the UK is just as vital to us as those around our buildings in London
and Yorkshire.
One way we fulfill our promise of being a library for everyone
is by spreading our exhibitions nationwide, so thousands more
can benefit.
This is made possible through our unique collaboration with
libraries across the country, the Living Knowledge Network,
where we present regional iterations of our London shows,
often with a local twist.
A highlight for last year was our Beyond the Bassline: 500
Years of Black British Music panel exhibitions across 46 high
street sites nationwide.
It was the first major exhibition of its kind to document the
500-year musical journey of African and Caribbean people in
Britain and their contribution to the British music scene. Our
regional partners added stories and items unique to their area
to their exhibition.
Elsewhere, we secured a major grant from The National
Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund – Our
Shared Future with our partner CILIP (the UK’s library and
information association). This groundbreaking climate action
project will create ten Green Library Hubs across the country,
to facilitate community awareness, behaviour change and
grassroots action on climate change.
Right: Beyond the Bassline regional panel exhibition at Birmingham Library.
“It was so refreshing to see more different kinds of culture rather than just
Newcastle’s history… [it] just further affirmed that this is a welcoming
place and that people from all different backgrounds are welcome.”
A library member
790,737 people
visited a regional
panel exhibition