Platform 9 3/4, the British Library, and the London Library

       Today we met and took the tube to Kings Cross Station in the morning rush so it was very crowded.  Once we got to the station, we went on a goose chase to find Platform 9 3/4 to get our pictures taken.  At one point we were lost because we did not know that we had to cross the street in to the rail station and not the tube station.  But once we got there it was a short wait to get the pictures taken.  Some of us did individual photos and then we all did a group photo. The group photo was pretty cool because the worker posed us so that all of us were doing something and not just standing there. After the pictures, we visited the store to look at the Harry Potter merchandise. Then we walked over to the British Library.

       The British Library is the national library and has 200 million items.  The library has been around since 1753, but has only been in its own building since 1997.  It was in the British museum before that and was split over 19 different locations. They have an offsite storage in Yorkshire which is 200 miles away.  The building stages were never completed past stage 1 because of funding.  

       In their exhibit, they have some items from the Beetles like the original song lyrics to Hard Days Night that was written on a birthday card and Michelle which was written on an envelope. I think that it is pretty cool  to see what the things were written on because of their sudden inspiration for the lyrics.  

        Next we had lunch and took the tube to The London Library.  The London Library was founded in 1841 as a members only library.  They have all hardback books and no dust jackets because of the heat.  What's so cool about this library is that part of the shelves are on the support beams and there are grated floors. 

       They have 8,000 titles coming in to the library every year and the art section is the fastest growing collection in the library. Also, all the books that they have received since 1950 are on their online catalog.  Everything else is still a paper catalog.  Some of their famous patrons include: T.S. Elliot, Her Royal Highness the Queen, Rudyard Kipling, and more.  

     After the library some of us headed back towards the dorms, but Danae and I stopped at Snog to get some frozen yogurt. It was delicious!! 

Till next time!