Conservation appeal
Could you help us preserve 4,000 years of history?
It’s not just the well-known items in our collection that record important moments in history. We tell the story of our world through the small things too – the letters. The photographs. And, of course, the books.
We've been overwhelmed by the incredible response to this year's conservation appeal. Thanks to your support, we're now aiming even higher to raise £35,000. This will help us conserve even more items in our collection, including the recently acquired letters of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
This internationally significant collection of 131 letters gives many unique insights into the life of one of the few female writers to gain prominence in Victorian Britain. Recently acquired by the Library, their fragile paper is in need of repair before digitisation work can take place to allow more people to discover this pioneering poet. Alongside Elizabeth's letters, a manuscript of Don Juan handwritten by Lord Byron himself and accounts depicting Mary Queen of Scots' imprisonment in 1584 will benefit from vital conservation work thanks to the generosity of our appeal donors.
You can help us conserve our collection. Support our conservation appeal today and save stories for generations to come.
How can I help?
Our sincere thanks go to Adrian K. S. Chan and Justin Zaremby, who have kindly supported the appeal as match funders.
We are also incredibly grateful to the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), British Library Collections Trust (BLCT) and Friends of the National Libraries (FNL) who supported the acquisition of the Elizabeth Barrett Browning collection.
£37,539.59
raised of £35,000 target by 334 supporters
Thank you to everyone who donated to this appeal. You helped us to conserve the most fragile items in our collection. If you would still like to contribute, click the button below.
For those in the US who would like to give to this appeal, please click here to give via the American Trust of the British Library.
