Tales from London Libraries and Archives

Today was an adventure as the weather was windy, rainy and cold.   The Library that was visited was the Barbican Library that was located in the City of London.  Yes, there is a city within a city!   The Barbican Library was not too difficult to get to however when one arrives the Library does not look like an ordinary one at all.  The building that the Library is housed in is made out of concrete.  It is very thick concrete, as well.  There is a theatre, restaurant and a coffee bar as well near the library. The Barbican Library was established in 1982, it is one of three libraries within the City of London and it is the largest.  The other two are the Shoe Lane Library and the Artizan Street Library.  All three librarians work together and if one checks out a book from Shoe Lane they can return it to the Barbican or even to the Artizan Street location. The librarian expressed the concern of effectively using the space within the library whic...

Today, we went to the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Muesum.  As I was walking up to the V & A was an experience for the building seemed so daunting but beautiful at the same time. We entered and were led to a beautiful room lined with books with tables to sit at.  The room reminded me of a library room that one would find in a castle or mansion.  The tour took us behind the scenes of the National Art Library in which many collections of magazines and the Great Exposition were available. The most interesting part of the tour was seeing the rare books that the National Art Library owns.  The librarian brought out a copy of the Book of Hours that was once owned by Margaret de Foix.  The illustrations inside were stunning!  The next rare book that was brought out was a copy of SHakespeare's First Foilo.  The National Art Museum owns several copies - 3 First Folios, 4 second First Folios and 1 third First Folio. I found out that t...