July 1: The British Library.

The British Library was created on 1 July 1973. Here are 10 things you might not know about the British Library.

1. It doesn't just have books in it. Yes, it does have a lot of books in it - about 13,950,000, but also a huge collection of patents, stamps, sound recordings, maps, musical scores, journals and web pages. There is so much stuff in there that if you looked at five items every day it would take you 80,000 years to look at everything.
2. Most of the items are stored underground, over four double tiered basement floors, which are strictly environmentally controlled. The most precious old manuscripts are stored in chambers filled with inert gases – nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide, to protect them from Fire.
3. In the middle of the building there is a several story high tower of old books called the King's Library tower. These are books which were personally collected by King George III – about 65,000 books and 19,000 pamphlets. His collection includes a Gutenberg Bible and a first edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Needless to say members of the public can't wander in and browse. These books are in a strictly controlled environment, behind special UV glass and only accessible to library members by special request.
4. It is possible to see some historic books and manuscripts, however, in the Sir John Ritblat gallery, which is open to the public. What is on display here constantly changes but might include hand written manuscripts by the likes of Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll and James Joyce as well as hand illustrated religious texts.
5. Just off this gallery is a room containing a copy of the Magna Carta.
6. The oldest items in the collection are Chinese oracle bones which are over three thousand years old.
7. About 16,000 people use the reading rooms every day.
8. The building in St Pancras in London was the largest building to be built in the UK in the 20^th century. 180,000 tons of concrete and 10 million bricks were used to construct the building. Even though it only opened in 1997, it is a grade I listed building. It was designed by Colin St John Wilson.
9. Before 1973 the items now kept in the British Library were part of the collection of the British Museum.
10. There is another storage facility belonging to the British Library in Boston Spa, Lincolnshire. Infrequently used items and newspapers are stored here.