World libraries: “Living Knowledge: The British Library 2015 – 2023” project launches

“Living Knowledge” sets out the British Library’s vision for its future development as it looks ahead to 2023, the year of its 50th anniversary as the national library of the United Kingdom.

It explains how the Library delivers public value – in custodianship, research, business, culture, learning and international partnership – and fulfils its mission to make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone, for research, inspiration and enjoyment.

These projects include digitally preserving the nation’s 6.5 million sound recordings, extending the successful Business & IP Centres to 20 UK city libraries, and growing the diversity of the Library’s cultural and learning programmes onsite and online in ways that reach more people across the UK.

Living Knowledge sets out a vision of the British Library as an open, creative and innovative institution, committed to supporting research, culture and growth in the UK. It defines the Library’s enduring public purposes – in custodianship, research, business, culture, learning and international relations – and makes the case for its growing importance at the heart of the UK’s national system of knowledge and innovation, at a time of transformation in technology and data science.