Loans at the British Library 1 facts and figures about the British Library

1. Loans at the British Library 1facts and figures about the British Library • Over 9,700,000 books • Over 310,000 manuscripts • Newspapers, sound recordings, maps, philatelic collections, music, photographs… • International scope:‘the world’s knowledge’ • Collections of great historical depth • (figures from 2001-2 British Library annual report)

2. Loans at the British Library 2background • Loans to exhibitions a vital part of the role of the national library • Strong demand from UK and overseas venues • Costs are a problem for many would-be borrowers • Digitisation increases interest and demand

3. Loans at the British Library 3 • In the 5 years to 31 March 2001 • 2000 + items lent to 243 exhibitions • Evenly divided between UK and abroad • Government keenly interested in exhibitions and loans – Key Performance Indicator • Authority to lend at department level, but sensitive and high-value items referred to the Chief Executive and/or the Board

4. Loans at the British Library - 4Authority and Purpose From the British Library Act, 1 (4): ‘The Board may, subject to such restrictions and conditions as they think necessary to safeguard their collections, lend any item, and make any part of their collections, or of their premises, available in connection with events of an educational, literary or cultural nature: Provided that in deciding whether or not to lend any such item and in determining the time for which and the conditions subject to which any such item is to be lent, the Board shall have regard to the interests of students and other persons visiting the national library, to the physical condition and degree or rarity of the item in question and to any risks to which it is likely to be exposed…’

5. Loans at the British Library 5one department’s work • Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections • New name for a 112-year old department • With Western Manuscripts, the main source of loans to exhibitions (40/40/20) • Growing interest in ‘outreach’ and cultural diversity when choosing target audiences • Scholarly needs remain at the core

6. Loans at the British Library 7some issues for APAC • Post-September 11, intense interest in Islam • Brings concerns about security • Faith and identity as important themes: Treasures from the Ark • Empire and its legacy: Trading Places • Cultural restitution and provenance questions

7. Loans at the British Library 8some wider issues • Managing demand (staffing pressures) • Debates about transport and couriers • Judging applications realistically and fairly • Trains in the UK • Photography • Multi-venue exhibitions – for and against • Virtual and real exhibitions

8. Loans at the British Library 9examples of recent work • The Story of Time (Greenwich) • Taoism and the Arts of China (Chicago) • Genghis Khan (New York and LA) • The Tiger and the Thistle (Edinburgh) • Khalsa: Heritage of the Sikhs (Leicester) • Turning the Pages

14. Loans at the British Library 15Contacts • Requests to borrow are directed to the loans registrar or the relevant curator • Barbara O’Connor - registrar • Michelle Brown (Manuscripts) • Beth McKillop (APAC) • John Tuck, Head of British Collections, ‘adjudicates in case of difficulty’