The British Library 1973–1994: An Outsider's View

Abstract

Formed in 1973 from a number of diverse institutions and enterprises, some of them long established, and all contributing in some way to the national library service, the British Library has successfully achieved a corporate identity. Its reputation is based upon formidable achievements in all areas associated with the responsibilities of the national library, traditional and non-traditional – in the provision of current and historical research materials in all disciplines, in the bibliographic control of the nation's current printed output, in pioneering information services, in sponsoring research, and in becoming a major centre for the electronic capture, storage and transmission of documents to remote users. It has however in the last ten years been bedevilled by the endless delays in, and rising costs of, the construction of its badly needed St Pancras building for accommodating the London-based reference collections and services; these have given rise to public concern and to official scrutinies, while the move from the present reading rooms has itself been opposed by organized groups of users. Only part of the original plan will be realized. The library has issued a series of strategic planning documents setting out its plans and intentions, each one adapted to the circumstances at the time, and also commissioned a study which has challenged traditional assumptions concerning collecting and retention policies.