Editing British Library (section)

== Using the Library's Reading Rooms ==
[[Image:British Library book transport.jpg|thumb|Demonstration of the mechanical book handling system (MBHS<sup>[18]</sup>) used to deliver requested books from stores to reading rooms.]]
[[Image:Sitting on history.jpg|thumb|Bronze sculpture. [[Bill Woodrow]]'s 'Sitting On History' was purchased for the British Library by [[Carl Djerassi]] and [[Diane Middlebrook]] in 1997.<br>Sitting on History, with its ball and chain, refers to the book as the captor of information which we cannot escape<br><br>The bust visible top left is [[Colin St. John Wilson]] RA by Celia Scott, 1998 a gift from the American Trust for the British Library. Sir Colin designed the British Library building]]
The Library is open to everyone who has a genuine need to use its collections. Anyone with a permanent address who wishes to carry out research can apply for a Reader Pass; they are required to provide proof of signature and address for security purposes.<sup>[19]</sup>

Historically, only those wishing to use specialised material unavailable in other public or academic libraries would be given a Reader Pass. Recently, the Library has been criticised for admitting numbers of [[undergraduate]] students, who have access to their own university libraries, to the reading rooms. The Library replied that it has always admitted undergraduates as long as they have a legitimate personal, work-related or academic research purpose.<sup>[20]</sup>

The majority of catalogue entries can be found on the British Library Integrated Catalogue, which is based on Aleph,<sup>[21]</sup> a commercial [[Integrated library system]]. Other collections have their own catalogues, such as [http://molcat.bl.uk western manuscripts]. The large reading rooms offer hundreds of seats which are often filled with researchers, especially during the Easter and summer holidays.