Struggling with the last of my three 1500 word summative essays that I have had to write this Easter, and especially struggling to find suitable secondary sources on Jules Ferry and Georges Clemenceau’s 1885 debate on French colonial politics, I decided that desperate measures were needed.
On my 20th birthday on 6th April, I travelled to London, with my first stop being The British Museum (as you do when you want to celebrate your birthday in style)!
The library is located near to St Pancras International and once I eventually found it, what an impressive sight it is! It is massive! A towering red brick building stood before me. Walking towards the main entrance, where members of the public sat sunning themselves in the bright sunshine, I could scarcely believe the size of it!
Since I had planned a few days in advance, I used the online registration system, completed the initial parts and ordered five books that I thought would be useful. Now, you may be wondering why on earth I did not go to the Billy B in Durham before I went home for the Easter break. I did! Although I found some useful sources for the bulk of my summatives, including this one, the one book that proved to be especially useful was lost in the Billy B, despite it never having been checked out. The book was put on search for me, but it is not much use when you live in the south and the book appears up in the far north!
Once I had completed the remainder of the necessary registration, I headed to the locker room, where I decanted the valuables of my beloved handbag into one of the clear, plastic carriers, and locked my handbag away. I made my way to Humanities floor, flashed my new library card, and voila, my books were ready for me to collect!
I was pleased to learn that photography is permitted in the British Library, meaning that I could take photographs of the most useful pages for my summative. This was a blessing! Firstly, I had not brought a pencil (you are not permitted to make notes with pens) and secondly, I would have been there all day!
A couple of hours down the line, I felt that I had gathered a number of sources that would contribute to my essay. It was a very interesting experience and one that I would certainly repeat, if needed. The library provides plenty of space to effectively work and the books available are invaluable. It is quick and easy to browse the online catalogue, and simple to request them.
Although The British Library was not quite as much fun as Harrods, Selfridges and Covent Garden were in the afternoon of my birthday, I would nonetheless recommend it and go again!