Strategic priority 4 - Grow and manage the national collection
Our collection is a combination of traditional and digital materials. It’s fundamental to the future of UK research, which in turn furthers the innovation and enterprise that drive the UK economy. We’ll continue to collect to meet the needs of researchers, and will provide expert stewardship to ensure the nation’s cultural and intellectual memory is sustained and accessible forever.
Key area - Implement electronic legal deposit
Actions and benefits
- Work with other stakeholders (including other legal deposit libraries, publishers
and government) to progress the necessary secondary legislation. - Focus on voluntary deposit of e-journals as a pilot area for scoping and testing processes in 2005/06.
- Develop a shared, secure digital infrastructure between the legal deposit libraries, beginning with a pilot to test and validate the approach.
- Collaborate with our national and international partners to further our innovative web archiving strategy.
Archival material from the Dunhuang caves. We conserve world heritage materials to the highest technical standards. |
Key area - Refine our collection development strategy for non legal deposit materials
Actions and benefits
- Review the collection materials we purchase, informed by input from key external experts and stakeholders. In recognition of its importance to our stakeholders we will revisit the intellectual rationale for our collection development strategy and make sure it aligns with evolving research needs and establishes a sound basis for a sustainable future.
- Collaborate with others, particularly the Consortium of Research Libraries in the
British Isles and the Research Libraries Network, to meet the anticipated resource
needs of UK research.
Key area - Develop innovative physical storage to cater for the continuing increase in printed publications
Actions and benefits
- Build the world’s largest collection storage facility in Boston Spa, extending
to some 250 linear kilometres. - Install pioneering low-oxygen, robot-enabled storage and retrieval technologies.
Key area - Establish a world-class conservation facility for library materials
Actions and benefits
- Build the international centre of excellence for conservation next to our
St Pancras building. - Launch the Centre for Conservation as the public and professional focus for the
promotion of best practice in collection stewardship and conservation specialisms. - Develop the Centre as the testbed of new conservation technologies, and the hub of international conservation debate and applied conservation research.
- Create the first Foundation Degree in Book Conservation in partnership with the University of the Arts.
- Develop a programme of unique British Library conservation internships.
Accurate navigation through the ages: the Library now collects satellite and digital mapping.
