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History
BFI National Library: a history @ 70
From humble beginnings as a small collection of books on an office shelf to the world's largest collection of moving image materials, the BFI National Library has a rich and fascinating history.
Dean Street, library location in the 1950s
When Ernest Lindgren was appointed in 1934 as head of what was then called the bfi Information Service, it was in response to one of the proposed aims of the BFI:
"To act as a clearing house for information on all matters affecting the production, exhibition and distribution of films…at home and abroad"
Since Lindgren was appointed this statement has been the bedrock of the work done by the library. The library collections have grown to include books, journals, reports, directories, newspaper cuttings, festival catalogues, audio tapes and in Special Collections the personal papers and ephemera of some of the great and the good in film and TV making. The library holds material dating from the age of the pre-cinema magic lanterns to today's global entertainment industry.
Today's library in Stephen Street holds 48,000 titles
The library and its collections support BFI Southbank by producing programme notes that accompany screenings and supply in-depth listings of cast and credits to monthly film magazine Sight & Sound. Researchers, job seekers and moving image enthusiasts of all ages utilise the collections daily, either via the Reading Room, through telephone and email enquiries to the Information Service and increasingly via the website.
In 2004 the Library celebrated its 70th anniversary. In 70 years the library has moved at least five times and the premises have still never been large enough to house the whole collection under one roof. However, the one constant has been the strength of knowledge and enthusiasm of library staff past and present and the support of library users.
After 70 years the bfi National Library is not just a collection of books, neither is it a warehouse repository of materials. It is a vital, accessible and expanding collection of knowledge about film and television.
Slide show
This presentation features new and old images of staff from our previous sites at Charing Cross Road, Shaftesbury Avenue, Dean Street to our present home at Stephen Street. Accompanying the images is an audio tape narrated by Joan Bakewell promoting the Library's unique collection of National Film Theatre interviews.
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Another Book
To celebrate our 70th anniversary Library staff produced this homemade film which shows staff at work and play. Bookending the film, staff pay their homage to Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves and even Mack Sennett's classic silent comedies.
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