The Reading Room
The Reading Room is currently closed.
The Reading Room stands at the heart of the Museum, in the centre of the Great Court. Completed in 1857, it was hailed as one of the great sights of London and became a world-famous centre of learning.
Construction
With a design by Sydney Smirke (1798–1877), work on the Reading Room began in 1854. Three years later it was completed. Using cast iron, concrete, glass and the latest heating and ventilation systems, it was a masterpiece of mid-19th century technology.
The room had a diameter of 42.6m (140ft) and was inspired by the domed Pantheon in Rome. However, it isn't a free-standing dome in the technical sense.
It has been constructed in segments on a cast-iron framework. The ceiling is suspended on cast iron struts hanging down from the frame and is made out of papier-mâché.
Many bookstacks were built surrounding the new Reading Room. They were made of iron to take the weight of the books and protect them against fire.
In all, they contained three miles (4.8km) of bookcases and 25 miles (40km) of shelves.
Early years
The Reading Room opened on 2 May 1857. Between 8–16 May, the Library was opened up for a special one-off public viewing. More than 62,000 visitors came to marvel at the new building.
Those wanting to use it had to apply in writing and were issued a reader's ticket by the Principal Librarian.
Among those granted tickets were: Karl Marx, Lenin (who signed in under the name Jacob Richter) and novelists such as Bram Stoker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Restoration and exhibition space
In 1997 the books were moved to a new purpose-built building in St Pancras and the bookstacks were taken down.
As part of the Great Court development the interior of the Reading Room was carefully restored. This process saw the papier mâché interior of the dome repaired and the original blue, cream and gold colour scheme reinstated.
When it reopened in 2000, the Reading Room was made available to all Museum visitors for the first time.
It housed a modern information centre, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Centre, and a collection of 25,000 books, catalogues and other printed material, which focused on the world cultures represented in the Museum.
The Reading Room was used for special exhibitions from 2007 until 2013. It currently houses the Museum's archive, which is available for students and researchers to access.
