--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 19:18:45 +0100
From: Tony Campbell <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: BL Map Library reopens
Sender: Tony Campbell <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask],
[log in to unmask]
Reply-To: Tony Campbell <[log in to unmask]>
Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
[posted to lismaps, Maps-L and MapHist]
We are delighted to announce that the British Library's Maps Reading
Room opened today in our elegant and spacious quarters in the new St
Pancras building that is now widely considered to be an architectural
masterpiece.
Our hours (at least until the end of September) are 9.30-5.00 (Monday
to Saturday). A reader's pass, valid in all reading rooms, is
required. For this, you will need two passport-size photos and proof
of identity.
Virtually all the material from the British Museum building has now
been moved over and all pre-1800 items are now available. The move of
offsite items, however, continues until February 1999. Please check
with us ([log in to unmask]) before visiting if you need post-1800 material or
post-1950 Ordnance Survey mapping.
As well as opening our reading room, we have also introduced 'The
British Library Map Catalogue on CD-ROM' as the standard route into
the BL's cartographic collections. The version of the CD now
available is still not the final form but it is much improved on the
disk that was distributed to subscribers at the beginning of the year.
The published version of the CD should be issued shortly.
The Oriental and India Office Reading Room - on the same floor as the
Maps Reading Room - also opened today, with the same opening hours.
The India Office Records Map Collections, and the other map resources
of the Oriental and India Office Collections, are normally to be
consulted in the Oriental and India Office Reading Room, where
specialist advice is available to users. Arrangements are in place
for researchers who wish to bring together material from the Maps and
the Oriental and India Office Collections for study.
The Department of Manuscripts will be closed from 28 August until 6
January 1999. This means that cartographic items with 'MS.' in their
call numbers, e.g. Add.MS., King's MS., etc, will be unavailable
during that closed period. By the time of the re-opening,
arrangements will be in place to enable material from the Department
of Manuscripts and the Map Library to be seen together.
The British Library is committed to a policy of 'interavailability',
and printed books and atlases from the Humanities collections, which
had moved to St Pancras earlier, can now be seen, when appropriate,
alongside Map Library items.
I hope to be able to welcome old and new users to our new reading
room. Please allow time to visit the acclaimed (and free) exhibition
areas, and the new bookshop.
*******************************************************************
[log in to unmask]
Tony Campbell, Map Librarian
British Library Map Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB {NB Please note *new* address}
Map enquiries: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 0171 412 7525 International: +44 171 412 7525
Fax: 0171 412 7780 International: +44 171 412 7780
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Please see, bookmark and PROVIDE LINKS to:-
1. The British Library Map Library homepage
http://www.bl.uk/collections/maps
2. The History of Cartography homepage
http://www.ihrinfo.ac.uk/maps/
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