National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum

The above is entitled "I Pledge" and is created using words from the Pledge of Allegiance. It's a new trend called book art.

We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum where the National Art Library is housed which focuses on art and design. Kirsten, the Assistant Librarian, gave us a tour which included a history of the library and its aims. We began in the Center Room which is where all inquiries are made and where requested materials are given to the readers. Also, there is a section where you can make copies (nothing before 1900) and/or take digital photographs.

There is no classification scheme at the National Art Library. Because there is limited space materials are shelved according to size. There are findings lists which tell where runs of books are by number. These lists are used by the two people assigned for retrieval duty. As the library is open to the public all materials are available. However, this does not always mean that the visitor will have the original in hand. Because many of the materials are quite valuable, such as Dickens's original manuscripts, the visitor is given a digital copy to encourage preservation.

The library was established in 1857 when the museum opened as the South Kensington Museum. However, it was not until 1884 that a proper space was built for the library. Unfortunately, the demand for space is not peculiar to this library or even to just the library. The West Room used to house library storage but three years ago when the museum needed more space it partially took it over and now houses the 20th century collection. There are still some books shelved along the walls and there are bars across to discourage the public from pulling them from the shelves. As an added inconvenience to library staff every time one of these books is requested the bars must be removed using a screwdriver.

After our tour with Kirsten we sat down with Francis to look at some of their special collections which included various examples of the early printing presses. She explained to us how important preservation and conservation is to their library. Like most other libraries they use acid free envelopes and melanex baggies for storage.

Below is yet another version of Alice in Wonderland and is housed at the National Art Library.

British Library

We started off the day by heading to King's Cross and posing at Platform 9 3/4 to celebrate our love of Harry Potter.

We were taken through the British Library and given a tour by Heather Morley. She informed us that it was opened in 1998 after being removed from the British Museum Reading Room where it was housed from 1857. The maps in their collection are second only to the Library of Congress. They receive 8,000 publications every day as everything published in the United Kingdom must be collected. The basement goes down 75 feet to the tube level but only half of the collections are stored on-site. The Northern line of the tube runs through the middle of the storage shelves and therefore they had to be reinforced to withstand the vibrations. There are a total of 200 million books in the collection which can be accessed using the online catalog.

In order to use the facilities you have to register for a reader pass and prove a need to see specific materials. You have to demonstrate that you have looked at other venues and were unable to find the materials anywhere else. The books are sent throughout the library using a trolley system that moves within the walls. During all the time this system has been in use no materials have been lost. They have their own cataloging system which is organized based on size not subject. The library has a tri-fold purpose: collect, conserve, and record the existence of materials.

Many famous people use the library for research. Heather said that Johnny Depp has used the oral recordings to practice his English accents for roles.

Many rare items are kept in the British Library. They have everything from the Magna Carta, original lyrics written by the Beatles, and many variations of Alice in Wonderland. I learned that there have been several different versions of Alice in Wonderland and each version has different illustrations which were amazing such as Ralph Steadman and Mervyn Peake.