Laing Management Contracting were appointed by The Property Services Agency to build the complex at the British Library and construction began in July 1984. In the end the project had a budget of £496 million and was completed in November 1995. The British Library opened to the public in November 1997 and was officially opened by the Queen in June 1998. The site brought together a collection housed across various sites and cut the wait for a book from a possible 4 days down to 20 minutes. The design by the modernist architect Colin St. John Wilson was not widely appreciated at the time but the building was listed at Grade I in 2015. The complex of buildings includes a large entrance hall, humanities and science reading rooms, a theatre, lecture halls and administration offices and 5 levels of storage basements.
This image was catalogued as part of the Breaking New Ground Project in partnership with the John Laing Charitable Trust in 2019-20.
This is part of the Series: JLP01/11 John Laing Photographic Collection Colour Negatives and Contact Sheets; within the Collection: JLP01 John Laing Photographic Collection
© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection
Late 20th Century Public Library, Late 20th Century Reference Library
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