London diary: The British Library


Art and literature has been a passion of mine my entire life. I was never a scholar, but I've always been eager to learn new things, to expand my horizon. It just has to happen in my own time. Now, it was time to discover the British Library. Up until quite recently, I didn't know the extent of the British Library, but as soon as I discovered it, I just knew I had to go. It is the largest national library in the world, and is said to contain over 200 million items. If this was a real life conversation, I would go something like this: "I can't even!" And since I'm just getting back to writing, I will just stick with that, because it's accurate.

I can’t even being to fathom the amount of history and knowledge that’s gathered within these walls. Just the basement itself is buried almost 25 meters below the ground, and the reading room sees 16 000 different faces every day. It just goes on and on and on with different levels and spaces and desks and work areas. This library also stores modern data (no, not porn). Just last year, the library collected nearly 70 terabytes of web data, which is kept on 625 km of shelves spread over 14 floors. That's over two billion web pages. Just being in this building, I can feel my brain growing.


I spent a few hours at the library and I kind of just made it my office for the day. I snuggled up in a corner on the second level with four fluffy pillows next to a exhibition on cats in literature. Yes, cats! An exhibition celebrating our mysterious, playful, companionable and creative domesticated cats. For all ages, throughout all centuries. Of course, I had to check it out! In honor of my lovely friend and artist, Brandy Bajalia, who is a crazy cat lady in training.

Cats aren't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when I think about modern literature or libraries, but walking through this exhibition really got me thinking about it. Cats are often one of the first animals we are introduced to in literature as children; in rhymes, songs and stories - and without even realising it, they have been a part of my whole childhood. Always there, lurking in the background. Just take the «Cat in the Hat», «Puss in boots or even «Alice in Wonderland». Cats are everywhere. We humans seem to have a very strong fascination with these four legged fluffs, with viral phenomenons like funny cat videos and memes. Something to think about the next time you find yourself stuck in an endless spiral of hilarious cat videos on YouTube.

Copies of Lewis Carroll, John Lennon and Jane Austen's work via The British Library

Before I stepped into my office for the day, I gained some adult points by checking out the exhibition; «Writing: Making Your Mark» on the first floor. I wasn’t really expecting to be moved by it, despite my love for words and markings, but as soon as I bent over the glass displays and peered down at the actual pieces.. I got chills. Seeing Mozarts own squibbles, Shakespeare's hand written pages, Leonardo da Vinci's old notes - I felt a little tingle in the back of my brain. My wife refers to these as brain orgasms, and I’m hereby adopting her term because I can’t find anything more accurate to describe this sensation.

This exhibition is an accolade to the history of our modern world. A collection 5,000 years in the making, from five continents, incredible minds, gathered under the same roof. My brain is still having a hard time understanding what I was looking at. Some pieces are on display for the very first time, having not seen daylight in years, meaning very few people has actually seen these things in real life. There is art and poetry and music. Everything that has been. So, if you get the chance, go! Stop by this hugely under-appreciated treasure chest of a library. There are cafés, book shops, cosy corners to just sit and relax in, reading rooms, exhibitions - and there is free WiFi. It's also a nice place to buy souvenirs that doesn't bust your budget completely, like it most likely will on the main streets.

No pictures allowed inside the exhibition, so I borrowed these copies from the British Library website via Timeout London.

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