Friends on ExLibris, SHARP-L and FICINO may be interested to knnow that
the British Museum Reading Room is open again. I was in London last
week and was able to take in the new Great Court and restored Reading
Room only two days after it was opened by the Queen. The Great Court is
gorgeous -- a soaring white space with elegant lines, two smart
quick-service cafes, and all the room for visitors they will ever
need. The old entry hall has been restored to its Victorian colour
scheme, though that may be a mistake, as it is fairly dark and thus an
uncomfortable contrast with the light of the new front court behind the
visitor, and the Great Court lying ahead.
But the pièce de resistance is the Reading Room. No, it wasn't chopped
up into separate areas, no, it wasn't turned into a souvenir shop, no,
it hasn't become a McDonalds. It is more or less its dear old self.
Truly, I wept -- it was like having to deal with the death of some dear
friend, and then finding that they were, after all, still alive. The
Reading Room (as I said it should 15 years ago, but who could I say it
to?) has become a library focused on the collections of the Museum. It
will be open seven days a week, to all comers. The book stock on the
shelves is still a bit thin, but that will change. The Victorian colour
scheme (here quite bright and light) has been restored, there is a
bigger viewing area for the tourists, some very avante-garde computers,
and a splendid new blue carpet. But apart from that, it's the same
wonderful old place -- same floor-plan, same shelves, same desks, mostly
the same chairs (except, I suppose, for those that have finally
succumbed to age). AND the Brtish Library has placed on permanent loan,
in its old place on the semi-circle of shelves, the set of the old
pasted-up slip catalogue that we used to use, day after day. I was
delighted. If there is a bad word to be said about this restoration, I
don't want to hear it.
The Grenville Library has become a chic BM shop, with fake bookbindings
on the shelves, but there are good plans for the restoration of the
King's Library, which is an important Regency room from the
architectural standpoint, and you can wander through and examine the
plans for its completion (when the money comes in, I guess).
The building of the Great Court and the restoration of the Reading Room
are very well documented for the visitor, including pictures of the two
cranes that took out all the old building materials from on high, and
brought in all the new ones, again from on high. What a job!
Well, as you can see, I am enthusiastic about the results of this much
debated, much anticipated restoration -- but go and see for yourselves,
as soon as you can!
Best to all, and a happy holiday, from Germaine.
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Germaine Warkentin // English (Emeritus)
Victoria College, University of Toronto
73 Queen's Park Crescent, Toronto, Ont. M5S 1K7, CANADA
Fax: (416) 585-4584
g.warkentin@utoronto.ca
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