Support the Library

The BFI is a registered charity with limited funds and the library would like to thank all those who have shown, and continue to show, their generosity and support of the library and its services. Our very existence depends on you.

Acknowledging the library

We are grateful for the continued support of a number of renowned academics and writers who have used the library for their research and have graciously acknowledged us.

Since collecting data (1993) the library has been acknowledged in almost 200 published books.

"This book would have been a near impossible undertaking without the resources of the British Film Institute Library, in particular the brilliant 'SIFT' database of periodical articles. Long may the Institute continue to recognize the vital importance of research facilities." - Mark Cousins and Kevin MacDonald, Imagining reality: the Faber book of documentary

"To the incomparable staff of the BFI library - patient, knowledgeable, helpful and endlessly good-humoured." - Lissa Evans, Their finest hour and a half

Donating to the library

We are Europe’s largest library dedicated to the subject of the moving image, but we are not a deposit library. Our limited acquisition funds must be spent with care and in some cases, such as festival publications, we rely solely on donations.

Books, articles, unpublished material

We are always looking to fill gaps in our collections and we are particularly keen to receive English language works – from theses to published books and articles - on topics relating to British film and television.

• For donations of published material (books, periodicals, industry reports, etc.) and theses please contact us at library@bfi.org.uk.
• For personal archives of unpublished documents please contact Special Collections at speccoll@bfi.org.uk.

Preservation & conservation

We do not at present run any scheme (such as adopt-a-book) but if you would like to offer a donation towards the cost of preserving either a particular item of the collections or towards the acquisition of preservation materials please use the BFI donation form.