HRH The Princess Royal opens new British Library Centre for Conservation

The British Library Centre for Conservation provides a world-class facility for all aspects of book conservation including education and training, as well as state-of-the art technical facilities for the nation's Sound Archive, enabling unrivalled standards of care for the Library's priceless collections. The Library is now able to offer much-needed training opportunities for conservation professionals as well as allowing the visiting public access through tours of the studios, demonstrations and lectures.

Escorted by Helen Shenton, Head of Collection Care, and Vicki Humphrey, Head of Conservation, the Princess Royal toured the Centre and met and talked to conservation staff who demonstrated a wide range of techniques from paper repair and photographic conservation to gold tooling and vellum treatments. Her Royal Highness also spoke to Sound Archive staff and heard an early recording of Florence Nightingale on a wax cylinder player.

Her Royal Highness also met with British Library Chairman Sir Colin Lucas and Chief Executive Lynne Brindley and other staff involved with the project, donors to the Centre for Conservation and other national librarians before unveiling the engraved panel to mark the occasion. She was impressed by the skills of the conservation team and sound engineers, and that the public tours of the Centre for Conservation have proven so popular, commenting: "So often people forget about the conservation aspect of what the Library does. I was delighted to see and admire people at work. For the public - what a treat. You're already booked out and I'm sure that will remain true"

Helen Shenton, Head of Collection Care at the British Library said: "It was a great honour to welcome Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, to officially open the British Library Centre for Conservation. The work of the Centre is very much behind-the-scenes, so it was a great accolade for all the staff to welcome The Princess Royal and demonstrate their skills so enthusiastically."

The Centre for Conservation was designed by architects Long and Kentish, principal contractor Sir Robert McAlpine with engineering design by Arup, project management by Drivers Jonas and cost consultancy by Davis Langdon.

For further information and images please contact Catriona Finlayson on 020 7412 7115 or email Catriona.Finlayson@bl.uk

Editors notes

Public tours of the British Library Centre for Conservation take place every Thursday at 2pm for approximately one hour. The tour gives members of the public the opportunity to see close-up the techniques used to conserve items from the British Library's collection and speak to the people who are saving the nation's artefacts for future generations. Please note tours are now fully booked for 2007. Advance booking is advisable by calling The British Library on 01937 546 546

The British Library is the national Library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library’s website at www.bl.uk

The British Library Centre for Conservation has been made possible thanks to the generosity of a number of donors: Heritage Lottery Fund, The Wolfson Foundation, The Dorset Foundation, The Foyle Foundation, The Weston Family, Dr Naim Dangoor OBE and The Exilarch's Foundation, PACCAR Inc, The Friends of the British Library, The Clothworkers' Foundation, The American Trust for the British Library, The Annenberg Foundation, The P F Charitable Trust, The Headley Trust, The Mercers' Company, The BAND Trust, Bloomsbury Publishing plc, The Rayne Foundation, Sound Archive Trust and a number of other donors.

The Heritage Lottery Fund enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and countryside or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation's heritage for everyone to enjoy. We have awarded grants totalling £3.6 billion to more than 22,500 projects, including over £750 million in London alone.

Long & Kentish Architects formed as a partnership in 1994, but the experience of the partners goes back many years before , when they were with Colin St .John Wilson & Partners. MJ Long was born in the USA in 1939 and received her MArch from Yale in 1964. She has been resident in England since 1965, and worked with Colin St John Wilson from 1965 to 1996 (as a partner since 1974). She also ran a separate practice ( MJ Long Architect) from 1974 to 1994. Rolfe Kentish was born in London in 1954 and received his MA and DipArch from Cambridge in 1980 and his UK registration in 1982. He worked with Colin St John Wilson from 1982 to 1996 (as an associate form 1989), and was an associate of MJ Long architect from 1990 to 1994.

Sir Robert McAlpine is a leading UK building and civil engineering contractor dedicated to achieving excellence in design and construction and is committed to the highest standards of both management and technical skills. This is complemented by a co-operative business culture which promotes and sustains long-term relationships with clients and members of our supply chains.

Arup is a global firm of designers, engineers and business consultants providing a diverse range of professional services to clients around the world. The firm is the creative force behind many of the world's most innovative and sustainable buildings, transport and civil engineering projects. Established 60 years ago, the firm exerts a significant influence on the built environment and has almost 9000 employees, based in 75 offices in 33 countries, working on up to 10,000 projects at any one time. Arup has three global business areas - buildings, infrastructure and consulting - and our multi-disciplinary approach means that any given project may involve people from any or all of the sectors or regions in which we operate. Our fundamental aim is to achieve excellence in all we do by bringing together the best professionals in the world to meet our clients' needs.

Drivers Jonas are a full service independent property consultancy employing over 600 staff across Europe with a turnover of £65m. The firm has offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Slough, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and are specialists in project management with a dedicated culture and heritage sector team.