The British Library
Library

The British Library | © gabriele gelsi / Shutterstock
The British Library is not just the largest library in terms of number of items catalogued in London, but the world. Though you need to a be a resident of the UK to be able to access the reading rooms, once you are eligible the membership is free to the 150 million items, sourced from across the world. A copy of everything ever published in the UK is held by the library which was created in 1973 and the institution plays host to many ground-breaking exhibitions and research projects conducted throughout the year.