Still quite exhausted from the journey over to London we made our way toward the British Library, but first a quick stop to Kings Cross Station! Yes, for the famous platform 9 3/4! For those who are big fans of the Harry Potter series, I am of the house of Raven Claw House and was excited to take a picture wearing the Raven claw scarf, before going in and buying my own!
After a few pictures at the station and a good chunk of time in the gift shop, we began our walk to the British Library. If you have not been, the moment you enter (assuming you enjoy old books as much as I do) you will stop you dead in your tracks. I say this with the utmost confidence because as you enter, strait ahead you can see a gigantic tower of over 65,000 old books. These books are from King George the III's personal library, and when they were donated, it was required that they always be on display to the public. The reason they are locked safely away behind glass is because of preservation purposes. The glass helps filter harmful light that can damage the books while the room itself is temperature and moisture controlled.
We were then treated to a special 'behind the scenes' of the preservation work being done at the British Library. In a building outside, through the back patio of the restaurant, is where all the magic happens. Here we were able to meet two different people working on preserving old materials. This was my first time learning about preservation methods and I was hooked! Not only do they work to keep the materials from degrading furthers but when replacing corners or repairing tears, all their work can be easily undone. Removing the work done also causes no more damages to the books! But why would the reverse their efforts? Well the goal is that, if in the future better methods become available for preservation, they can redo the work they have done with the better methods!
These hard working individuals have undoubtedly won my heart! When it comes to preserving history, they end up being the champions for our future. As we are always taught, we are taught our history so that we may learn from it. All history is important for understanding our past.
Click Here to learn more about their preservation: https://www.bl.uk/conservation
We then all separated to eat lunch and were going to reconvene later in the day for a tour of the Library. One of my classmates, Katie, found a book shop located on the water nearby. It was a small book boat! A group of us found our way over to the boat and were so excited to in! Of course, we all left with at least one book!
Click Here to find more on the books store on the water: https://www.facebook.com/wordonthewater/
The last part of our day consisted of a tour where we got to go through many of the "staff only" entrances and learn about the history of the library! So much was packed tight into a very eventful, long, and wonderful day!