We’re the national library of the UK.https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mu5hqy5hzk2tFun library fact: our Piazza isn’t just a great spot to read in the sun, it’s also pretty good for fossil hunting While books live inside our London building, the stonework outside contains fossils of oysters, plants and snails - all millions of years old A perfect Friday afternoon if you ask us28 Aug 2026 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5hqy5hzk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mu53s4aksk23Writing a book about the Americas?📚 You've got two weeks to apply for the Eccles Institute & @hayfestival.bsky.social Global Writer’s Award UK & Latin American writers can win £20k, a British Library residency & special access to our collections Apply by 14 September https://www.bl.uk/about/projects/eccles-institute/eccles-hay-festival-global-writers-award28 Aug 2026 09:54 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu53s4aksk23https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mtyly47fr22vA sad time for music and book lovers alike. Dolly Parton was not only an extraordinary songwriter and performer, but a passionate champion of reading, putting books into the hands of millions of children through her Imagination Library.26 Aug 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyly47fr22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mtxwa5mygc27It’s World Dog Day, so here are a few of our favourite certified good bois from the collection 🐶 From the 1300s to the 1800s, every good dog deserved a portrait. We’re inclined to agree.26 Aug 2026 08:31 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtxwa5mygc27https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mtr4mlax2k2mSummer holiday, 1813 edition 🌊   That summer, artist William Daniell set off from Land’s End to travel the coast of Great Britain, sketching the landscapes along the way.   The result? Voyage Round Great Britain, an eight-volume record of 308 beautifully detailed acquatints of Britain’s coastline23 Aug 2026 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtr4mlax2k2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mtockdkxyc2bNot all fairy tale heroines need rescuing ✨   From Madame d’Aulnoy, to the women whose stories shaped the Brothers Grimm’s collections, women writers and storytellers have had a huge influence on the genre   Read all about the incredible women behind your favourites https://www.bl.uk/stories/blogs/posts/not-just-damsels-in-distress-women-writers-and-fairy-tales22 Aug 2026 12:45 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtockdkxyc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mtlt5mv4ps2rAnyone want to look at some cool illustrations? These are by illustrator and author, Aubrey Beardsley, born #OnThisDay in 1872 A leading figure in the aesthetic movement and his black ink drawings of the grotesque, the decadent and the erotic encapsulated the spirit of the fin de siècle21 Aug 2026 13:04 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtlt5mv4ps2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mtjlehkow22iIt was short but oh so sweet Rain - we missed you 💙20 Aug 2026 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjlehkow22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mt4hbj7zdk2eEnglish artist and illustrator Walter Crane was born #OnThisDay in 1845 Best known for his children’s book illustrations, Crane was inspired by a wide range of artistic styles, from Japanese colour prints to the work of William Morris and John Ruskin. Which influences can you spot in these works?15 Aug 2026 10:22 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4hbj7zdk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3msvhwq4jik2qAs we all look up at today's solar eclipse, here's how they were doing it nearly 86 years ago* These photographs, supposedly from 1 October 1940, show people observing an eclipse using a small retractor on a tall tripod to project an image of the sun. Anyway, we're off to grab our colanders...12 Aug 2026 15:45 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvhwq4jik2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mst4dxtfvc26Glimpse into the world of Homer's Odyssey, from Enlightenment poet Alexander Pope's hand. He translated the epic into English in 1725-26. While it wasn't all his work, the rhyming couplets are a thing to behold... 📜 Alexander Pope's Odyssey (1726), Add MS 4809.11 Aug 2026 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mst4dxtfvc26https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3msnhlt5avk27It's National Book Lovers Day 📚 What's the one book you've recommended more than any other? Ours? The team's been sharing their favourite summer reads over on the British Library Shop blog https://shop.bl.uk/blogs/blog-post/british-library-staff-recommend-summer-reads09 Aug 2026 11:17 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3msnhlt5avk27https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3msksm3tztk2dHappy World Cat Day 🐈   Cats have been making appearances in books, manuscripts and illustrations for centuries.   Here are some of our favourites from the collection... and some of our favourite attempts at cats...   Which one's your favourite?08 Aug 2026 09:56 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3msksm3tztk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3msgctdtr322xToday's excuse to read a little poetry: it's Lord Alfred Tennyson's birthday 🎈 We're celebrating with an extract of The Palace of Art - which of his poems is your favourite?06 Aug 2026 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3msgctdtr322xhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3msdmsrxfj22hWhat’s one of the oldest objects you’ve seen that genuinely made you stop and stare? We’ll go first: a copy of Homer’s Odyssey in Ancient Greek, printed in Venice in 1488 that we got to take a look at today 📚05 Aug 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3msdmsrxfj22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3ms67sbb7d22xLibrary and archive professionals – don't miss the EPICo Conference 2026 hosted here at the Library this autumn We’ll be exploring collaborative approaches to the management and preservation of physical library collections From 30 Sept – 2 Oct Find out more and book your place link.bl.uk/epico03 Aug 2026 09:48 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms67sbb7d22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mrxcoh3zoc2jFriday afternoons look rather lovely from here ☀️ However you're spending the weekend, we hope you find time for something that sparks your curiosity31 Jul 2026 15:51 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrxcoh3zoc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mruhk7aiks2zBorn on this day in 1818, Emily Brontë gave us some of literature's most unforgettable lines 💜 Here are five of our favourites from Wuthering Heights...30 Jul 2026 12:40 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mruhk7aiks2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mrpnaysy6k2sExciting news - the British Newspaper Archive's new platform is here Explore millions of digitised pages of newspapers and other publications from our British and Irish collections, dating as far back as the 1700s We can't wait to get exploring 🗞 link.bl.uk/7ci28 Jul 2026 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpnaysy6k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mrk47rh4m22vHappy #NationalDogPhotographyDay to every four-legged friend patiently waiting while someone says, "Just one more chapter" 💗26 Jul 2026 09:51 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrk47rh4m22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mrhqd7oddc26Some weekends are made for getting lost in a good book. What's everyone reading this weekend? We need some recs 🖌A Child’s Garden of Verses by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1905 Source: 11650.h.36 frontispiece25 Jul 2026 11:12 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrhqd7oddc26https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mrfqpdvd7c26Our kind of Friday evening 📚24 Jul 2026 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrfqpdvd7c26https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mramwgqn6s2nThis July marks 110 years since the Battle of the Somme Often remembered through military history, these newspapers reveal the human stories behind one of the deadliest battles of the First World War22 Jul 2026 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mramwgqn6s2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mqp63hex2c2tCouldn’t help but notice a few words sticking out to us in our manuscript collection, think it might be a sign... #itscominghome15 Jul 2026 16:42 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqp63hex2c2thttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mqoj33zta22q"St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain. St. Swithin's day if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain nae mair." Looks like this heatwave is sticking around a little longer - 40 days of sun here we come ☀️ 🎨Splendor Solis, 1582. Harley 3469, f.33v.15 Jul 2026 10:26 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqoj33zta22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mqbymlfkns25Currently wishing we were here with a good book 🥵 (ps we have aircon if anyone needs to cool off) 🎨 Kriegs Flugblätter des Simplicissimus by Carl Lendecke & Friedrich Otto, 1914; F60136-3410 Jul 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqbymlfkns25https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mq7qrojnx22kExciting news - our online platform of over 650,000 metadata records of UK doctoral theses (EThOS) is now available again  Find out more about EThOS and how to use it on our website link.bl.uk/kxk09 Jul 2026 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq7qrojnx22khttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mpsqzoqpu222As the USA turn 250 today, we spoke to Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and Ade Solanke about the American Declaration of Independence and its significance for the USA and wider world   Watch the video below and check out our free temporary display in the Treasures Gallery   link.bl.uk/fsk https://link.bl.uk/fsk04 Jul 2026 09:34 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpsqzoqpu222https://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mpnz5rgoec2vHave you ever wondered what secrets lie in your favourite poet’s notebook? In her latest blog, manuscripts cataloguer, Lara Mayr, discusses the importance of notebooks held in the archive of poet & translator Michael Hamburger & the invaluable insight they offer Read all about it📚 link.bl.uk/blmh02 Jul 2026 12:16 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpnz5rgoec2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/britishlibrary.bsky.social/post/3mplttbzaik2oCome and spend the next academic year embedded in our curatorial teams Two exciting fellowships are open to postdoctoral, early-career researchers which can be undertaken over 12-months full-time or part-time equivalent, as part of the Joanna and Graham Barker Fellowship Scheme Find out more👇01 Jul 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:gkzmxvsl7jtyledcgpgxbjcg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mplttbzaik2o