I did recognise it, although I've never ever caught a train there! The S&D might have been useful a few years back, when I was commuting from Dorset to Bath ...

New Head of Service for Museum Data Service 📣

We are delighted to announce that Dr Mia Ridge @miaout.bsky.social will become Head of Service for Museum Data Service, the transformative initiative which is connecting all the object records across the UK’s museums

👉 artuk.org/discover/sto...

Big news! I'm incredibly privileged to take on leadership of the Museum Data Service while continuing half-time in my role at the British Library. The MDS is already a success story, and I'm so excited about taking it further! artuk.org/discover/sto...

Looking for something to read over the Easter break? @susan-librarian.bsky.social has just published our latest #Scholcomm newsletter featuring great selection of news, announcements, readings, events. Lots to catch up again - have a look #openresearch #openscholarship mailchi.mp/0945df75792c...

He was. I just don't know how you keep that level of intensity for so many hours

Photograph of the programme cover for the opera Siegfried, performed at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London, on 31 March 2026

Definitely the highlight of the year so far for me

Fairy Tales: a celebration of storytelling Explore fairy tales from around the world in our new exhibition.

From oral storytelling to illustrated books, fairy tales have been shared and reshaped for generations.

Explore the stories and objects featured in our new Fairy Tales Exhibition link.bl.uk/ngw

No gin, I'm afraid, but a teacher at primary school once brought in a jar of cider. Oddly enough, I think that I enjoyed the taste more back then than I do now!

View of Bathampton Weir from the Toll Bridge, Somerset

Today incorporated a much less-energetic stroll along the river at Bathampton, to see trees chewed by beavers. Fantastic weather for it!

I was able to build up to it gradually; after a few weeks it became the start of a longer circular walk taking in the racecourse, the Cotswold Way, and Kelston Round Hill. I doubt whether I could do the walk now without some prep! Prior Park is lovely.

I hope that you enjoy your day. A walk up to Beckford's Tower became my daily treat during the pandemic restrictions

An edition of the Register of Archbishop Cranmer, edited by the late Paul Ayris, has now been published open access: uclpress.co.uk/book/thomas-...

Environmental sustainability is key when planning digital preservation approaches. so we're excited to share news of a new project we're partnering on with InformU Solutions to develop a practical framework on behalf of
@nationalcollection.bsky.social
www.nationalcollection.org.uk/events/news/...

National libraries join forces in major UK–Ireland cultural initiative Four national libraries across the UK and Ireland will work together on a new programme of cultural cooperation backed by €750k in funding. The collaboration is one of twelve projects under the…

4 national libraries join forces in €750k UK–Ireland cultural initiative

Jürgen Habermas ist heute im Alter von 96 Jahren in Starnberg verstorben.

A detail from the Chronicle of Battle Abbey, showing a historiated initial enclosing a portrait of William the Conqueror, sitting enthroned, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, with a dog at his feet. The initial is formed from a winged creature.

We have an incredible new PhD placement opportunity to help support the development and curation of our major exhibition on the Norman Conquest, opening in October 2027.

Learn more and apply through the link below!

www.bl.uk/services/res...

Good news that the digitised Beowulf manuscript has survived the digital equivalent of the Cottonian Library fire, the British Library cyberattack of 2023

75 Years of the BNB (and bewitching Narnia books) Marking 75 years of the British National Bibliography (BNB).

This may not answer your question, but there was a blogpost last year noting slight changes to the Z39.50 service on migration of the BL catalogue to Alma: www.bl.uk/stories/blog...

Bought a new plastic mac.

Author Phil Harris on his retirement with a view of the Round Reading Room of 1857. Photo: BL Corporate Archive, PH 034/342

We’re delighted to share that A History of the British Museum Library, 1753–1973 by P. R.

Harris is now digitised and freely available to all interested in the history of the Museum and librarianship.

Find out more here: link.bl.uk/vvx

Stone, parchment or laser-written glass? Scientists find new way to preserve data Hard disks and magnetic tape have a limited lifespan, but glass storage developed by Microsoft could last millennia

Features me, commenting: no one "is choosing to build infrastructure that will support the information needs of future generations... we should pour our scant resources into fixing the aftermath of the cyber-attacks on the British Library" instead of this... www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Celebrating 100 Million Newspaper Pages on The Archive In this special blog, we celebrate reaching the landmark of 100 million pages on The Archive, with insights from our users and tips for searching our papers.

Today the British Newspaer Archive reached 100 million pages! What an epic achievement! So many interesting pages to explore. And we’re not stopping there the BL & FMP will continue to digitise, so here’s to the next 100 million!
blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2026/02/16/c...

The UK Web Archive: continuing our work behind the scenes We are hoping to restore the UK Web Archive towards the middle of 2026.

Despite recent challenges, our UK Web Archive team remains dedicated to safeguarding the nation’s online heritage.

Find out more about UK Web Archive recovery in this latest blog post here: link.bl.uk/aaq

I hadn't realised that Bindon Abbey in Dorset was the first English house to be returned to the Cistercian Order - in the 1790s when the Welds gave it to the refugee monks of La Trappe. Sounds like it was a fun place to be

Curling stones on an ice rink. Image by Felix from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway in Italy where 2,900 athletes from 92 National Olympic Committees will take part in Alpine skiing, curling, ice hockey and more. Find out how you can help preserve web content for this historic event here: link.bl.uk/7yj

#Olympics @netpreserve.bsky.social

The front page of the Daily Graphic newspaper published Saturday 25 August, 1917, featuring portraits of 'Women in the Order of the British Empire', including Lady Byron, the honourable Mrs Alfred Lyttelton, Her Majesty the Queen.

Apply for our PhD placement scheme to get involved in extraordinary research at the Library. There are eight available placements exploring a variety of themes including war poetry, 21st-century digital tools, illustrated newspapers and decarbonisation.

Find out more: link.bl.uk/PhDPlacements

Want to learn more about how libraries can promote positive climate action?

Join us on 26 February to explore how libraries can contribute to a circular economy.

Book your free place: link.bl.uk/9sy

Pas de Calais - Les ruines de Neuve-Chapelle après les combats de mars 1915 -

Pas de Calais - Les ruines de Neuve-Chapelle après les combats de mars 1915 - site

Would the UK need to rejoin the EU before trying this "proper Brexit"? 🤔

A dragon has landed at the British Library 🐉

Created exclusively for Fairy Tales, this new illustration from the legendary Chris Riddell will guard the doors to our magical family exhibition opening in March.

Tickets are now on sale at link.bl.uk/FairyTales