This library has every book ever published.

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 3.2K

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  ปีที่แล้ว +1231

    This video has a correction: it turns out the formal interview requirement for a reader pass has been dropped since I joined. However, you'll still need to get a pass to use the BL, and you're not allowed to take books out of the reading rooms! You can see all corrections on the channel here: www.tomscott.com/corrections/

    • @MrMiguel211
      @MrMiguel211 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      aw man

    • @TheUltimateBlooper
      @TheUltimateBlooper ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Hey, Tom! This is the coolest thing I've seen! Scientists, researchers and archival people are just the best humans 👍

    • @Acephale1312
      @Acephale1312 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I was so confused when you mentioned that as I didnt do an interview and for a moment felt guilty that I had done something wrong!

    • @Krombop.M
      @Krombop.M ปีที่แล้ว +5

      This is honestly one of the most important things humans do. Appreciate your work, Tom, thank you.
      Cheers!

    • @MPedich
      @MPedich ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I've translated the subtitles for this video into Polish. Would you like to add them to the video?

  • @shyguypro9876
    @shyguypro9876 ปีที่แล้ว +9097

    I have mad respect for archivists. It's such insanely important work but so under appreciated.

    • @BlissBatch
      @BlissBatch ปีที่แล้ว +333

      The engineers who designed this facility are probably also underappreciated. Both deserve more props.

    • @Gandalf_the_Black_
      @Gandalf_the_Black_ ปีที่แล้ว +220

      Shout out to everyone's favourite Gary Brannan, Gary Brannan

    • @pyglik2296
      @pyglik2296 ปีที่แล้ว +135

      As someone who is very anxious about data loss, I'm so glad there are people like these.

    • @Cloud_Stratus
      @Cloud_Stratus ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I disagree, so much stuff today is just pure rubbish. I have to spend a lot of time to find a good book these days. Sturgeon's law is more relevant than ever.

    • @diedrino
      @diedrino ปีที่แล้ว +92

      @@Cloud_Stratusyou’re actually agreeing with op, their work is to make sure only important stuff is preserved. Oh, by the way, op was talking about archivists, not librarians

  • @YTRingoster
    @YTRingoster ปีที่แล้ว +4233

    "We have to collect everything, because we don't know what will be important"
    This x100. We don't get to write our own history, but we DO get to decide what is preserved and what is forgotten! Huge respect for these people

    • @Coconut-219
      @Coconut-219 ปีที่แล้ว +45

      In the last 7 years (and more) we've had some rather shady individuals making those decisions.

    • @asdawasda
      @asdawasda ปีที่แล้ว +28

      ​@@Coconut-219like what

    • @HOTD108_
      @HOTD108_ ปีที่แล้ว +19

      @@Coconut-219 Ok boomer.

    • @n1ppe
      @n1ppe ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ​@@Coconut-219who?

    • @TheInator1234
      @TheInator1234 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@Coconut-219 you're gonna upset the chronically online cultists with that one

  • @jamesmnguyen
    @jamesmnguyen ปีที่แล้ว +3188

    CGP Grey taught me how important tracking down old articles and books are to proving/disproving myths.

    • @DasGanon
      @DasGanon ปีที่แล้ว +338

      And his "someone dead ruined my life... again" video about the Tiffany myth even includes the British Library!

    • @ICountFrom0
      @ICountFrom0 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      and now I'm watching that next, thank you.

    • @jamesmnguyen
      @jamesmnguyen ปีที่แล้ว +54

      @@ICountFrom0 His video on the Staten Island race is very informative yet hilarious.

    • @ICountFrom0
      @ICountFrom0 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      I just consumed his snark over the tiffany poem, and I feel him, I really do.

    • @lifeguardpanda
      @lifeguardpanda ปีที่แล้ว +7

      ​@@jamesmnguyenI'm from Staten Island born and raised!!! It shocked me so much that he did that!!!!

  • @kjw79
    @kjw79 ปีที่แล้ว +2431

    One paragraph in a tiny community newspaper from the mid-1800s helped me answer a family mystery of decades. It was just a social column, but I’m so glad someone preserved it over the years, just in case future me would need it. It was the key to finding a whole branch of our family during the civil war era! (Canadian here). Thank you archivists and librarians!

    • @lauraslade5308
      @lauraslade5308 ปีที่แล้ว +101

      I'm intrigued to know what this family mystery was!

    • @PlaylistWatching1234
      @PlaylistWatching1234 ปีที่แล้ว +52

      Tell us the mystery!

    • @AyyEf
      @AyyEf ปีที่แล้ว +46

      What was the mystery and the paragraph? Don't leave us hanging!

    • @delayedcreator4783
      @delayedcreator4783 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      paragraph reveal when?

    • @badwifi931
      @badwifi931 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      Spill 🔫

  • @catwithshades7577
    @catwithshades7577 ปีที่แล้ว +2092

    The modern Library of Alexandria.
    Huge props to everyone involved in this project! This is crazy!

    • @sprout8426
      @sprout8426 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      that's exactly what I thought too!!

    • @Sapien_6
      @Sapien_6 ปีที่แล้ว +107

      Do you- do you know what happened to the library of alexandria?

    • @exotic1405
      @exotic1405 ปีที่แล้ว +56

      Uh oh...

    • @toast6375
      @toast6375 ปีที่แล้ว +122

      @@Sapien_6it was set ablaze, this library is in a low oxygen environment, a fire could not burn for long

    • @sable7687
      @sable7687 ปีที่แล้ว +94

      the modern library of alexandria is a REAL THING though. not only is the fire burning an overscaled myth (it only burned part of the library, it mostly just faded over time) its not like alexandria got blown off the map, you can still go there, the library is still there

  • @guyanomaly
    @guyanomaly ปีที่แล้ว +1279

    I’m an academic library worker and I also work in archives, and it makes me so happy to see this. Most of our books are really esoteric but some of them happen to be the one surviving record of, like, a reproduction of an obscure painting or salamander populations in 1950-1970 or a zine a teenager handed out to his friends 40 years ago, and that detail turns out to be incredibly important to a researcher decades later.

    • @KodakYarr
      @KodakYarr ปีที่แล้ว +22

      But just imagine trying to find the data you want in that jungle

    • @guyanomaly
      @guyanomaly ปีที่แล้ว +78

      @@KodakYarr That’s why we have finding aids for archives!

    • @ICountFrom0
      @ICountFrom0 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      Honestly, hearing there are high school zeens in there, makes me want to figure out a research project that'll require, say, pictures of the pages of them. Just to try to get some of that stuff to live again, in some tiny way.

    • @auntiecarol
      @auntiecarol ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @@guyanomaly Aye, but finding aids are a very blunt tool. How many, after well-thought-out "series descriptions", have a "miscellaneous papers" tagged on at the end?
      I'd always hoped that with the SGML/XMLization of FAs some 20ish years ago we'd have wiki-like setups where researcher-provided information would be fed back into archivists' finding aids… but that did not really happen, so far as I am aware.

    • @WyvernYT
      @WyvernYT ปีที่แล้ว +33

      A real world example, though from the United States, is the novella "The Eye of Argon," which appeared in 1970 in OSFAN 10, the fanzine of the Ozark Science Fiction Association. For complicated reasons it became popular and was read by many people, yet for years all known existing copies were incomplete until someone finally found a copy of the original zine in 2003.

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  ปีที่แล้ว +7145

    There are actually six legal deposit libraries for the UK: the others are in Edinburgh, Aberystwyth, Cambridge, Oxford, plus the Trinity College Library in Ireland. But while the others can ask for works, the BL is the only one that doesn't (and can't) pick and choose what it takes. So for modern works, there's usually more than one backup copy somewhere, just in case!

    • @bijoychandraroy
      @bijoychandraroy ปีที่แล้ว +29

      Understandable

    • @ThatOneFNaFGuy
      @ThatOneFNaFGuy ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Cool

    • @DanielKeenaghan
      @DanielKeenaghan ปีที่แล้ว +173

      The British Library also must be sent a copy of every book published in Ireland too, under Irish law. Along with 7 university libraries and the Irish National Library.

    • @SupercriticalSnake
      @SupercriticalSnake ปีที่แล้ว +45

      Time to rewatch Map Men to make sure I'm pronouncing those names correctly.

    • @ThisGM
      @ThisGM ปีที่แล้ว +31

      @@SupercriticalSnake You aren't. And even if you are, you still aren't.

  • @Hexagonaldonut
    @Hexagonaldonut ปีที่แล้ว +595

    This kind of thing is insanely cool, and the thing I massively agree with is that one point: We can't decide *now* what'll be important 50 years in the future. We literally *cannot know.* This is relevant in a *lot* of contexts, not just archival, and it's always nice to hear someone stress it like that.

    • @GnomaPhobic
      @GnomaPhobic ปีที่แล้ว +20

      For sure. It definitely gives me pause to wonder how the things, ideas, and experiences I place value on today will change in decades to come.

    • @ajs41
      @ajs41 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Of course we can't. It's amazing that anyone could think otherwise.

    • @HanabiraKage
      @HanabiraKage ปีที่แล้ว

      The very definition of "ignoramus et ignorabimus".

    • @Hexagonaldonut
      @Hexagonaldonut ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@ajs41 And yet lots of people do think that! It angers me every day.

  • @Taracinablue
    @Taracinablue ปีที่แล้ว +258

    Now I'm picturing a dystopian book/movie in which the characters have to somehow scale those massive shelves, maneuver past the dusty, dead robots, and find the knowledge they need for the story

    • @bingomachine
      @bingomachine ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Would be a nice setting for a Story mission in a video game.

    • @pointystories582
      @pointystories582 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      That sort of happens in 'Star Wars - Rogue One'.

    • @TheQuark6789
      @TheQuark6789 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Also sort of happens in Harry Potter when they break in to see the prophecy.

    • @fritzcolburn
      @fritzcolburn ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Twilight Zone - "Time Enough at Last"

  • @Jasonwolf1495
    @Jasonwolf1495 ปีที่แล้ว +1302

    As someone who works in a museum and has been in our archives, I'm glad we have oh so much random "junk". Maybe that advertisement for 2 for 1 deal on potatoes meant nothing to you at the time, but for us we have a well made pamphlet showing local business names, family names, prices, and commodities that were important in the 1800s.
    Edit: spelling.

    • @tthaas
      @tthaas ปีที่แล้ว +149

      I was kind of thinking that. An economist a hundred years from now could conceivably track the price of eggs both geographically and over time during, say, 2019-2021 (to see the effect of the pandemic on relatively inelastic good prices in different areas?) with enough well-placed queries.

    • @Mara-vc2ch
      @Mara-vc2ch ปีที่แล้ว +70

      Highly agree. I found an old book full of odds and ends, mostly related to cooking, from maybe 1880 (at the earliest) to the 1960s, and seeing all these old leaflets and school photos that surely were so commonplace back today was so informative. It made me realize how interesting and valuable even the strangest minutiae can be

    • @ACME_Kinetics
      @ACME_Kinetics ปีที่แล้ว +30

      My mom was a conservator at the University of New Mexico. "The stacks" was the term for the 9 storey building containing hundreds of years of our history, from Spanish conquistadors to "Dewey Defeats Truman."
      There is SO much interesting history (also currently boring history) housed there. So much of which hasn't been touched in decades (other than the fire that induced so much smoke damage.) I don't expect to really need it anytime soon, but I'm so glad it's there.
      I hope these archives will be amalgamated into one searchable database available to the world before we nuke ourselves..

    • @westrim
      @westrim ปีที่แล้ว +16

      I've read time and again about things that were such common knowledge that no one thought to record them, until it disappeared from memory.

    • @nilremuk
      @nilremuk ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @@westrim Aye "institutional memory" or "common" knowledge is a dangerous thing for history, as it's so rare for people to record it. Even some jobs from just a couple of hundred years ago are largely forgotten about with no written description of exactly how something was done (we know the job existed and the end result, but not how something was done or the variations), let along further back.

  • @Stephen_Lafferty
    @Stephen_Lafferty ปีที่แล้ว +1381

    I'm a librarian and a BL card holder - I love seeing the automation behind the scenes of such a national institution!

    • @MiseFreisin
      @MiseFreisin ปีที่แล้ว +104

      As a big yaoi fan, I am _also_ a BL card holder

    • @feha92
      @feha92 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@MiseFreisin As one who always excludes (blacklists) the tags when I search for new reads, I have to ask whether a BL card is a real humorous thing someone invented to be able to say that phrase, or if OP meant something else entirely xP

    • @LordDragox412
      @LordDragox412 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Warning: Do not enter the L-Space without The Librarian.

    • @masu851
      @masu851 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Well it is probably a British library card holder.

    • @Irisverse
      @Irisverse ปีที่แล้ว +30

      @@MiseFreisin I would have made this joke if no one else did. Thank you for sparing my dignity.

  • @ramachandra776
    @ramachandra776 ปีที่แล้ว +1412

    Legal deposit . Collecting all the literary material no matter how obscure , to preserve for posterity is really a gargantuan task . Thanks for the information. This was really useful to know .

    • @harrytsang1501
      @harrytsang1501 ปีที่แล้ว +57

      It's just data hoarding on another level. I love it

    • @QALibrary
      @QALibrary ปีที่แล้ว

      The big issue is most stuff is printed on poor-quality paper and paper tends to also have been washed in acid (to make it white) so over the years it will crumble to dust.
      Unless you like the disgraced writer and politician Jeffrey Archer where all his material is produced on PH-neutral paper

    • @SylviaRustyFae
      @SylviaRustyFae ปีที่แล้ว +20

      If only they did it in a way which didnt mean that publishers have to essentially pay the govt to publish their works
      We are in 2023 and youre tellin me the govt needs a physical copy of every published work; instd of a digital copy? That just seems like govt waste in multiple senses bcuz storage and upkeep of digital books is vastly less expensive than such for physical books

    • @MrVauxs
      @MrVauxs ปีที่แล้ว +63

      @@SylviaRustyFae They said they are keeping up digital versions up as well. Also, a lot of publishers send free copies to various entities and persons, sending it to the library to be stored and available forever is a VERY small ask. Lastly, printed versions differ from those that are digital. And as was said in the video, you cannot decide which version will be important in 50 years.

    • @SylviaRustyFae
      @SylviaRustyFae ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@MrVauxs Its a VERY large ask of a small time publisher who exclusively publishes rare expensive books

  • @tthaas
    @tthaas ปีที่แล้ว +670

    This reminds me of my days at university; I was in Houston, Texas, and needed some information published in an obscure book about computer programming. The only existent copy available at a lending library in the US was in Fairbanks, Alaska (at U Alaska Fairbanks), almost 4,000 miles (~6,400 km) away, or an almost 10 hour flight. If it wasn't there, my only other option would have been the Library of Congress in Washington DC, the equivalent of the British Library in the US, but it isn't a lending library so I'd have had to travel to DC to peruse the material.
    My librarian put in for an inter-library loan on a Tuesday, and I had the book in my hands the next Monday. I read what I needed Monday night (and I'll neither confirm nor deny going to Kinko's to make copies of the relevant chapters for later review as needed), and had it back on the way to Alaska on Tuesday. Modern libraries are, in a very real sense, truly amazing. A simple (free!) request, and a book makes a cross-continental journey.

    • @PureAsbestos
      @PureAsbestos ปีที่แล้ว +41

      Now you've got me curious what the book was and what information you were looking for... it usually seems like you can find anything you need to know about programming on the internet these days.

    • @justawatchin2
      @justawatchin2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      ​@@PureAsbestosreally depends on the decade in my experience

    • @kikib8434
      @kikib8434 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I f*cking love this 😊.

    • @ruzziasht349
      @ruzziasht349 ปีที่แล้ว

      Houston, Texas? So F*cking hilarious, do you know how old the UK is in comparison to the US? hahahahaha

    • @GaiaCarney
      @GaiaCarney ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I love ‘my’ local library! 💖 They loan out much more than books - telescopes, gardening kits, exercise equipment, sewing machines, food canning equipment . . .

  • @astronemir
    @astronemir ปีที่แล้ว +259

    This should be something the public of the UK should be proud of. Learning from history and Preserving the world’s (UK’s) literature. This is extremely long sighted. I’m super impressed

  • @sarjulia
    @sarjulia ปีที่แล้ว +392

    Oh, the joy this brings to that weird "don't throw that away, you might still need to refer to it later" -part in me! Gorgeous and strangely satisfying to not only *know* but to actually see that people value our human print-output ♥️

    • @Tuss36
      @Tuss36 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Agreed. I dunno if I'd be qualified to work at such a place, but dang if I don't have the right mindset to keep everything around!

  • @DrRusty5
    @DrRusty5 ปีที่แล้ว +182

    It also lists a copy of my PhD thesis, but the actual copy (now probably digital) is held by my university's library. It still is fun to search for it on the database and someone needing sleep can request a copy.

    • @Ducktility
      @Ducktility ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Mine too, but I didn't send it to them

    • @Diamondragan
      @Diamondragan ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That was a witty jab about needing sleep. Thank God for copiers.

    • @MonkeyJedi99
      @MonkeyJedi99 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      My "I need sleep but don't like drugs" book used to be a college class book titled something like "The Constitutional History of the United States" which is a book about how the decisions of the US Supreme court molded and changed the legal landscape and interpretations of the US Constitution and federal law.
      -
      I took the class because the HISTORY department class was title "US Constitutional History, Part 1".
      What I didn't know was that it was actually a pre-law 300-level course.
      I was the only physics major who had ever taken the course.

  • @ben0329
    @ben0329 ปีที่แล้ว +282

    The importance of this was really hammered home when Tom said this is the raw text of history as it happened in response to Linda saying we can’t decide today what is important in 50 years’ time. The sheer scale of this archiving is amazing

  • @Mobin92
    @Mobin92 ปีที่แล้ว +381

    Kinda happy that we live in a society where something like this exists.

    • @p_mouse8676
      @p_mouse8676 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      It's a weird mix of being super great to archive this, but at the same time it also feels a bit like big brother is watching you at the same time. Espeically with websites.
      What if I don't want my stuff to be archived for whatever reason?

    • @ximono
      @ximono ปีที่แล้ว +43

      If you put it on the internet, it's public. Big brother watching you is real enough, but it's not The British Library.

    • @QuantumHistorian
      @QuantumHistorian ปีที่แล้ว +11

      It says a lot that we're willing to spend money and effort preserving information for the future. Mostly, that we care about both information and the future. I'm glad we do.

    • @badoing7390
      @badoing7390 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@p_mouse8676stop reading the daily mail

    • @onebacon_
      @onebacon_ ปีที่แล้ว +15

      ​@@p_mouse8676then don't publish it? What kinda question is that. "I wanna put something in a public place but no one can photograph it."

  • @DestructivelyPhased
    @DestructivelyPhased ปีที่แล้ว +3737

    So, the question is, has Tom deposited his weekly newsletter with the British library for the UKWA?

    • @RC-1290
      @RC-1290 ปีที่แล้ว +398

      Would be funny if he found out about that aspect by being approached about it.

    • @MyRegardsToTheDodo
      @MyRegardsToTheDodo ปีที่แล้ว

      @@sir.niklas2090 There really aren't that many job opportunities for a spambot out there.

    • @mikeo9863
      @mikeo9863 ปีที่แล้ว +106

      They go get it themselves by constantly crawling the web.

    • @lunarna
      @lunarna ปีที่แล้ว +37

      Are they published anywhere online though? They can't really crawl through emails.

    • @alinspanov4226
      @alinspanov4226 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      I've been searching for the previous newsletters(before I subscribed), If they have them maybe I will have a chance to find those treasures too

  • @cfpss2
    @cfpss2 ปีที่แล้ว +127

    So pleased to see this! We are a small charity that publishes four editions of our journals each year, plus one or two books annually too - and they're all stored in this building. They are very proactive too - if you forget to send them a copy of a periodical, they are aware and will contact you. It's fascinating to see what it looks like inside!

  • @JISJ1964
    @JISJ1964 ปีที่แล้ว +782

    In Sweden, The Royal Library of Stockholm gets one copy of absolutely every printed matter printed in Swedish, including the local advert folders of supermarkets and so on provided the print is four pages. That library can´t throw anything away, they have to keep everything, the University libraries in Sweden are divided in two groups where one of them also has to keep everything and the other one can throw away some things after five years.

    • @LHyoutube
      @LHyoutube ปีที่แล้ว +58

      That's a whole lot of IKEA catalogues! 😲

    • @nogravitas7585
      @nogravitas7585 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      @@LHyoutube Do Swedish IKEA catalogs use random English words instead of Swedish ones?

    • @HweolRidda
      @HweolRidda ปีที่แล้ว +23

      In Canada it is two copies. We worry that someone might lose one copy of the grocery store flyer.
      EDIT I just checked..the National Library can reduce the requirement to one copy, at their discretion. I hope only one copy of every shopping flyer in Canada goes in the library's mail slot.

    • @EebstertheGreat
      @EebstertheGreat ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@HweolRidda It's two copies in the U.S. as well. I assume the idea is that if one copy of an important book is lost, damaged, or stolen, they can make a copy of the remaining copy. Or maybe it's more mundane and practical than that, and they just think they should be able to lend one copy while still having another copy available for viewing at the library (though only Congress can take books out from the Library of Congress).

    • @spritgris
      @spritgris ปีที่แล้ว +5

      ​@@nogravitas7585no the furniture names are still in swedish

  • @lizhope9050
    @lizhope9050 ปีที่แล้ว +283

    I wrote most of my undergrad dissertation with the help of the British Library. You can't find many places with a copy of the British Museum's transcripts and complete translations of some of their cuneiform tablets that were published in the 1890s.
    You can tell a book is rarely checked out when some of the pages haven't even been cut yet.

    • @57thorns
      @57thorns ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Wow, that means you have to ask to get it cut for you?

    • @Speedster___
      @Speedster___ ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Wdym by cut?

    • @ValleysOfRain
      @ValleysOfRain ปีที่แล้ว +69

      @@Speedster___ Old books used to be bound and printed with folded sheets to ease production, meaning that one of the edges would be connected to the next page. People would use a paper knife (the forerunner of the letter opener) to "cut" or open up pages to allow them to be read.

    • @Speedster___
      @Speedster___ ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@ValleysOfRain ah so it was attached to other pages not just spine. Thanks

    • @oz_jones
      @oz_jones ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Whoa. That's... Im jealous

  • @ezekiel0606
    @ezekiel0606 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    I'm not British but it makes me proud as a human that we have archives. I have high respects for archivers.

  • @shu_ums
    @shu_ums ปีที่แล้ว +668

    This is the coolest thing I've seen all day! It feels like one giant book that contains all the books/information ever recorded.

    • @korn6657
      @korn6657 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      The real life version of "The library of Babel".

    • @Alacritous
      @Alacritous ปีที่แล้ว +6

      You mean, library.

    • @carlkamuti
      @carlkamuti ปีที่แล้ว +5

      As close to the the Akashic Records that we mortals are able to attain.

    • @nedludd7622
      @nedludd7622 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Only the British ones.

    • @CATel_
      @CATel_ ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@Alacritousno its a website

  • @azpcox
    @azpcox ปีที่แล้ว +409

    Tom’s knack for timing is something only great comedians, great film editors, and great watch makers have.

    • @chr1styn806
      @chr1styn806 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Are you referring to the US Library of Congress case? I was just thinking the same thing.

    • @lennihein
      @lennihein ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Even when he has bad timing, i.e. the Iceland Volcano, it's actually perfect, since he can turn it into a unique video.

    • @-Keen-
      @-Keen- ปีที่แล้ว +4

      ​@@chr1styn806They're referring to the end of the video.

  • @tfrowlett8752
    @tfrowlett8752 ปีที่แล้ว +191

    The oldest book I’ve seen is the atlas coelestis by John Flamsteed, published 1729. It wasn’t published fully until after his death, as he was a perfectionist and wanted it to be perfect. Other astronomers got annoyed at the delays, most notably Issac Newton. Someone broke into Flamsteeds’ office and stole his notes and published the book without his knowledge of consent. When he found out he tried to find every copy and destroy them, he missed about a hundred.

    • @IntimusPaladion
      @IntimusPaladion ปีที่แล้ว +26

      The free gallery in the British Library contains some even older books! Some Shakespeare and Chaucer and even 2 of the remaining 4 copies of the Magna Carta from 1215!

    • @MeiinUK
      @MeiinUK ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Oh wow....

  • @thomasdalton1508
    @thomasdalton1508 ปีที่แล้ว +564

    CORRECTION: You don't have to explain why you can't get what you need elsewhere in order to get a reading pass for the BL. That requirement was dropped in 2006, I believe. The requirement for an interview was dropped last year.

    • @catwithshades7577
      @catwithshades7577 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      Wow! So it's more accessible then? That's awesome!
      Do you know if this library supports the Libby app as well?

    • @LordDragox412
      @LordDragox412 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Just make sure not to get lost in the L-Space.

    • @mikopiko
      @mikopiko ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@LordDragox412 What's the L-Space?

    • @thomasdalton1508
      @thomasdalton1508 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@catwithshades7577 I don't think they use Libby. For most of their electronic resources, you need to go there in person and sit down at one of their computers. Some things you can access through your own device, but I think it is their own system so isn't compatible with Libby.

    • @apveening
      @apveening ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@mikopiko L-Space is a bit difficult to explain, but if you really wish to know, I strongly recommend reading the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, especially those in which the Librarian appears.

  • @lars__2778
    @lars__2778 ปีที่แล้ว +1700

    Oddly satifying that institutions like this exist

    • @iinfernox
      @iinfernox ปีที่แล้ว +31

      It's comforting to know the past is being kept around and safe, even if it won't be used often. The same thing applies to hoarders a bit

    • @_Saracen_
      @_Saracen_ ปีที่แล้ว +15

      I wonder how disaster proof it is, if something ever happens to civilisation as we know it, we'll have this fantastic source of generations of information to fall back on. You hear of the seed vaults in Svalbard etc that can kinda maintain themselves but would this national library slowly/suddenly degrade without direct maintenance? They all look like above ground buildings mostly so presumably they'd go up in fire rather easily without outside help?

    • @toast6375
      @toast6375 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@_Saracen_they have 700km of shelves, this is not above ground. It is also low oxygen so a fire would smother itself quickly, they also likely have full sealing procedures.

  • @simbals
    @simbals ปีที่แล้ว +55

    I recently self published a book and sent a copy to the British Library, it’s fascinating to see where it ends up.

    • @lifedocumented3944
      @lifedocumented3944 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Thats cool. It would kinda surreal to see a book I published be in the british library. Have you seen your book in the library yet?

    • @simbals
      @simbals ปีที่แล้ว

      @@lifedocumented3944 I’ve not seen it yet. I presume it takes a while to be added. I will see if I can search for it on their online database. Also now Tom has confirmed I don’t need an interview to join maybe I can go one request it 😃

    • @drzander3378
      @drzander3378 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      There’s a copy of my doctoral dissertation at the British Library. I doubt anyone has ever requested it!

    • @the1abstrakt
      @the1abstrakt ปีที่แล้ว

      @@lifedocumented3944he hasn’t replied so maybe he’s stuck in the low oxygen room

  • @0000-z4z
    @0000-z4z ปีที่แล้ว +268

    In Germany, you need to deposit two books. One goes to the library of the state in which it was published an the other goes to the national library with locations in Frankfurt and Leipzig.

    • @adamryan977
      @adamryan977 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      But they won't collect everything like the UK version. Things they deem transient information, like pamphlets, train timetables and advertising aren't collected.

    • @TheAslakVind
      @TheAslakVind ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Good idea, book burning has been very popular earlier in your country.

    • @bardon7725
      @bardon7725 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Not correct one goes to Leipzig the other to Frankfurt. The state library has to be sent another one or two directly depending on the state.

    • @mrkitty777
      @mrkitty777 ปีที่แล้ว

      In my country books are stored for free while the author is writing it. 😮 diditally.

    • @LPPokefan
      @LPPokefan ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Actually three, since you need to send a copy to Frankfurt and Leipzig.

  • @matthewstanulet1441
    @matthewstanulet1441 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I love the subtle change in his expression at 4:46 when he realizes it stopped at just the right moment

  • @AlasdairGR
    @AlasdairGR ปีที่แล้ว +55

    Love the extra effort put in to contact indie authors and self publishers. Everything is worth collecting and preserving. No work should get lost to time due to a lack of attention or financial success.

    • @lifedocumented3944
      @lifedocumented3944 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Absolutely. The world doesnt need another Library of Alexandria incident

  • @tylerpeterson4726
    @tylerpeterson4726 ปีที่แล้ว +749

    The US has this, but very recently there was a lawsuit that determined the required deposit of all copyrighted materials without payment was an illegal seizure. Unless the lawsuit judgement is reversed on appeal, the Library of Congress will need to pay for every book it wishes to possess and there is currently no budgetary authority to do so.
    Edit: This ruling was actually by an appeals court, so only a Supreme Court ruling could undo it.

    • @CyreneDuVent
      @CyreneDuVent ปีที่แล้ว +159

      I'd been wondering about that when he mentioned how expensive these books can get. I hope that situation resolves itself, because it would be awful for the library of congress to stop preserving materials just because of budgets

    • @captianmorgan7627
      @captianmorgan7627 ปีที่แล้ว +201

      They just need to treat it legally like needing to file a patent. In the patent you need to show what you are patenting. In your copyright request you need to supply a copy of the material to be copyrighted.

    • @CyreneDuVent
      @CyreneDuVent ปีที่แล้ว +52

      @@captianmorgan7627 I'm guessing that's how it largely worked previously. The issue is that the govt is no longer legally allowed to require you to supply a copy without paying you, at least until they can get that court decision overturned

    • @timwatterson8060
      @timwatterson8060 ปีที่แล้ว +80

      Kool I'll just publish one off books for several hundred dollars every few hours................

    • @bestaround3323
      @bestaround3323 ปีที่แล้ว +93

      This makes me hate capitalism even more

  • @PastaAivo
    @PastaAivo ปีที่แล้ว +118

    Self-publish a book and send it to them, now that is a life goal. Imagine telling all your friends that you got into the legal deposit archive (without mentioning the fact that everything gets in, of course).

    • @MiseFreisin
      @MiseFreisin ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Is a fingerprint/DNA registry also technically a "legal deposit archive"? You wanna be careful they don't misunderstand

    • @Appletank8
      @Appletank8 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      I wonder if they accept stone tablets?

    • @FilemonHD
      @FilemonHD ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Well, I got into the German legal deposit archive multiple times. But after a while they decided that our student newspaper wasn't worth collecting.

    • @PastaAivo
      @PastaAivo ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@FilemonHD Somehow I feel like a student newspaper could actually be super interesting to historians in the future.

    • @grassytramtracks
      @grassytramtracks 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@PastaAivo whatever thought process of the German national library is completely missing the point, being that you collect everything because you don't know what will be important in the future

  • @CarolNankinga
    @CarolNankinga ปีที่แล้ว +10

    As a Librarian working at a National Library, I find the British Library really really fascinating. I am inspired every single time. Thank you so much for sharing this video.

  • @Vrobrolf
    @Vrobrolf ปีที่แล้ว +89

    If you decide to do a full victory lap of increasingly meta videos of places, concepts and tools that helped you create your own library of videos, spiraling ever closer towards your final video, I wouldn't even be mad.

  • @SieurBrabantio
    @SieurBrabantio ปีที่แล้ว +232

    In France, everithing print more than 9 times by a Professional printer, including ads and all that kind of thing, must send two copies, one for the national library, one for the departemental archives.

    • @MaxArceus
      @MaxArceus ปีที่แล้ว +62

      So no professional printer in France has ever printed exactly 10 copies of any particular thing?

    • @Valcuda
      @Valcuda ปีที่แล้ว +47

      ​@@MaxArceus
      Me to a professional french printer: "Could you print exactly 10 copies of this?"
      Printer: "It just isnt possible"

    • @BradsSpace2
      @BradsSpace2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Valcuda Non

    • @delta250a
      @delta250a ปีที่แล้ว

      Now that should go in one of Toms' podcasts@@MaxArceus

    • @EvenTheDogAgrees
      @EvenTheDogAgrees ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @@MaxArceus There's no reason it couldn't be done. It says "anything printed more than 9 times by a professional printer". Nowhere did the OP say the mandatory copies can't be part of those 10 prints.

  • @benz.
    @benz. ปีที่แล้ว +79

    This is such a hugely important collection. I am so glad that the foresight was there to allow the archival of works for future generations.

  • @chemguyleland
    @chemguyleland ปีที่แล้ว +162

    Finally, a library where I can find every Terry Pratchett book

    • @blacksmith67
      @blacksmith67 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This!

    • @zmaj12321
      @zmaj12321 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      preach

    • @Yewtewba
      @Yewtewba ปีที่แล้ว +3

      They wouldn't let you sit there and read them, but it pleases me to know this exists.

    • @paulhaynes8045
      @paulhaynes8045 ปีที่แล้ว

      Why would you want to do that?!

    • @LordDragox412
      @LordDragox412 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      This is the real-life L-Space. Please do not enter it's premises without the Librarian.

  • @sadpee7710
    @sadpee7710 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    this is such important work it's insane. future historians are going to be so grateful there were people in our age who took archiving seriously

  • @sniffleblox2354
    @sniffleblox2354 ปีที่แล้ว +134

    Given how you talk about how much you use it for your own research, it’s nice that you finally got round to making a video on this. Fascinating, would be a privilege to ever be looking for something so niche that I’ll have to borrow from there.

    • @IBeforeAExceptAfterK
      @IBeforeAExceptAfterK ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Well Tom has said he's going to stop making these videos soon. It's possible he was saving this place for near the end.

  • @MatteoCampinoti94
    @MatteoCampinoti94 ปีที่แล้ว +136

    I work for one of these archives in Denmark! We deal with public data more than books specifically, so everything ever saved in a public office, events, etc.
    Digital archiving is a mess. Systems are weirdly built, databases are over-engineered and we often get files that are so old that we need to run converters on old machines just to create access copies.
    It’s lots of fun though, and you get to preserve knowledge for the future which is just cool!

    • @rec8127
      @rec8127 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      I'd love a job like yours 😭

    • @MatteoCampinoti94
      @MatteoCampinoti94 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@rec8127 they don’t open positions very often, but you should try next time your local archive has a job available :)

    • @Lighkdk
      @Lighkdk ปีที่แล้ว

      where in Denmark does this take place?

    • @MatteoCampinoti94
      @MatteoCampinoti94 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Lighkdk Aarhus

  • @tangentfox4677
    @tangentfox4677 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    It can't be overstated how valuable archives like this are.
    And how much more valuable they'd be if they also preserved scans of everything that are freely accessible.

  • @davidkbailey
    @davidkbailey ปีที่แล้ว +87

    Tom, I just want to, on a personal note, say thanks. Mondays are often difficult, being Monday's and all, and being able to watch a new video from you during my lunch hour is one of the few Monday delights that I have. I appreciate all of the work you have put into this TH-cam project of yours, and I will miss it once it ends. So, many thanks. And hopefully, after January, we will all still get the occasional surprise from you to delight us all from time to time.

  • @sheilaross1449
    @sheilaross1449 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Oh, how delightful! I work for the equivalent in my country, and it was really cool hearing talk about the same issues we are dealing with. We just finished our fancy, new, LEED gold-certified preservation facility. I don't know if it's the same for the British facility, but our automated storage and retrieval system works in the dark, to save energy and ensure the best preservation conditions. We're still in the process of moving materials over to that building! It's a huge task.

  • @eom-dev
    @eom-dev ปีที่แล้ว +2

    1:27 I really admire this attitude. Being the outreach person for the self-published artists must be a rewarding job.

  • @woflpack2390
    @woflpack2390 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I absolutely love that this exists and really appreciate the work of everyone working to preserve all this information!

  • @busybillyb33
    @busybillyb33 ปีที่แล้ว +255

    These institutions must be protected to avoid the fate of the Library of Alexandria.

    • @QALibrary
      @QALibrary ปีที่แล้ว +23

      The National Library of Wales used to have teams that went around and searched/looking for fire etc

    • @MomMom4Cubs
      @MomMom4Cubs ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Or the Baghdad House of Wisdom.

    • @lucasrobin2788
      @lucasrobin2788 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Or the Maya Codices

    • @Khronogi
      @Khronogi ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Didnt most of those get destroyed by war or like invaders trying to destroy culture?

    • @MomMom4Cubs
      @MomMom4Cubs ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@Khronogi Yes, that's the point.

  • @TriglycerideBeware
    @TriglycerideBeware ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This is absolutely amazing, I had never heard of this. I sure wish there was a project like this for A/V media... There are so many games, movies, series, commercials, YT videos, etc. that seem to be forever lost to time

    • @the11382
      @the11382 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Some national libraries are doing this, including British, Dutch, and French libraries. US library of congress seems to be lacking behind on this. I guess more countries need to follow suit.

    • @hb1338
      @hb1338 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The BBC has an absolutely huge archive of material, not only the broadcasts themselves, but things like scripts and production notes. Thankfully most of it has been catalogued. I believe there are employees who will conduct searches if you ask nicely.

    • @the11382
      @the11382 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@hb1338 I mean, odds are, the BBC archive is digitalized by now.

  • @DomyTheMad420
    @DomyTheMad420 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    the more you explain the merrits and use as a historical archive to be studied,
    the more i stopped thinking "this is a waste of money"
    this is absolutely brilliant!

  • @librarybear3419
    @librarybear3419 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    The deposit libraries are a marvel. The one in Finland is called Varastokirjasto (transl. Storage Library) and fullfills the same duty of storing "everything published in a nation". Less automated, though. I recall everything is stored in order of acquisition, and if any library is cleaning up their oldest collections, they should check from database that they have a sample.

  • @cementi4381
    @cementi4381 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The last 20 seconds of your video sums up a big reason why I find your video's so engaging, beyond of course being interesting. I don't think there is anyone else on TH-cam that comes off so genuine.

  • @sadface
    @sadface ปีที่แล้ว +39

    We need a compilation of perfectly timed Tom Scott moments, maybe a good one for Christmas/New Year special?

  • @GambitsEnd
    @GambitsEnd ปีที่แล้ว +81

    I really love the goal this archive has. Wish more countries had a similar mindset, and with more types of material. For example, artwork.

    • @FelitusDE
      @FelitusDE ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Actually most countries got a national library with interest in collecting every print of all times in their country. Arts however make this very difficult because at least considering non digital arts every artwork is unique.

    • @sion8
      @sion8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You forgot to add “and the budget to do so”!

    • @MsCaptK
      @MsCaptK ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It's not a goal, it's reality. There are several libraries in the UK like this.

    • @lifedocumented3944
      @lifedocumented3944 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Absoluelty, I wish everyone had a the mindset of perserving history even if you dont agree with the work, it should still be perserved. It hurts my soul to see people in isis destory ancient sites and history just because they dont agree with it.

  • @Kaldrin
    @Kaldrin ปีที่แล้ว +34

    I'm anxious about data loss and the loss of knowledge so this type of thing comforts me, props to all these workers who are doing absolutely crucial work, as always with most things a lot of crucial jobs are underappreciated.
    Now I wonder if they'll really manage to keep up with the cheer amount of data we produce each day.
    Also does that mean this video is archived there?

  • @satyris410
    @satyris410 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    The work Tom Scott is doing is also precious and should be preserved for the nation. Time flies when you're having fun; doubly so when you're older, we've just got to appreciate these moments while we can. I'm already pre-mourning the loss of this strand of Tom's videos.

  • @boy638
    @boy638 ปีที่แล้ว +71

    We don't often think twice about throwing away a promotional pamphlet we receive, and yet we find amusement and even learn from pamphlets from decades ago. I'm sure covid-related stuff would be so interesting to look back in the future.
    Glad they are trying to save everything!

    • @jossland1628
      @jossland1628 ปีที่แล้ว

      Interesting? Not really. Funny to see how hysterical everyone became, 100%.

  • @KelsomaticPDX
    @KelsomaticPDX ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This endeavor warms my heart. Speech, communication, and sharing knowledge are so core to humanity. Striving to preserve EVERY scrap of it feels like a monument to humanity.

  • @kylegonewild
    @kylegonewild ปีที่แล้ว +4

    These kinds of knowledge repositories are so important. It's cool to see one from the UK, using an automated storage system (probably from SSI) that I've worked with previously. Those cranes really do zip around those tight corridors.
    "I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer." -Thomas Jefferson, speaking on the US Library of Congress when he submitted his personal collection for archival.

  • @emeraldbonsai
    @emeraldbonsai ปีที่แล้ว +585

    This was a plot point in ascendance of a book worm I didn’t know it was a real law thought it was a overreach but makes sense

    • @benp.865
      @benp.865 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      yoo I thought of the exact same thing

    • @TobiNightcore
      @TobiNightcore ปีที่แล้ว +32

      YOOO Didn't know I'd find a fellow bookworm reader here

    • @M8gazine
      @M8gazine ปีที่แล้ว +6

      tom should watch that anime it's very good

    • @emeraldbonsai
      @emeraldbonsai ปีที่แล้ว +47

      @@TobiNightcoreI feel like tomscotts audience and book worm readers have a decent overlap. Who else would read fantasy novels explaining the evolution of paper production XD

    • @S3Bayaya
      @S3Bayaya ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Oh hey, a bookworm enjoyer.

  • @sssdddkkksss
    @sssdddkkksss ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Really helped my genealogical research. Old newspapers with obituaries, a random book about several families that moved from Spain to the Netherlands in the 1600s, you never know what's important to people in 100 years.

  • @ConstantChaos1
    @ConstantChaos1 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    This concept makes me so happy because i hate loss of information and culture so this is right up my alley, if i didnt live such an active and chaotic life i would definitely have became a librarian i live to learn i just love chaos too so libraries are places to visit not work for me

  • @masterofzion1
    @masterofzion1 ปีที่แล้ว +99

    I expected Gary, you know, the archivist, to show up in this video.
    This was very cool and I really appreciate the work archivists do every day.

    • @Dialethian
      @Dialethian ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Is Gary related to John Peters? /j

    • @adventurousmagpie4598
      @adventurousmagpie4598 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Dialethian The farmer? never heard of him

    • @Aveisinpain
      @Aveisinpain ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@DialethianJohn, the archivist?

    • @WyvernYT
      @WyvernYT ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Everybody's favorite Gary Brannan must have archives of every Technical Difficulties episode.

    • @ellaisplotting
      @ellaisplotting ปีที่แล้ว

      @@adventurousmagpie4598 that's a shame, I was in the market for some imaginary corn. I hear the harvest's been good this year.

  • @danial1635
    @danial1635 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Thank you so much for making a video about this as I had no idea about the digital archive of UK. I am a strong proponent of the need to have digital archive of the whole web in the form of archive org, and recent cases against it have been extremely disheartening. Hopefully humanity comes together in preserving knowledge, discussions and information, no matter the type.

  • @yashizuko
    @yashizuko ปีที่แล้ว +19

    I just love Tom videos so much, its like watching prime youtube era, im going to miss this series once its over

  • @TheVagolfer
    @TheVagolfer ปีที่แล้ว +27

    The most surprising thing is Tom has not filmed this place before today.

  • @Pygmus
    @Pygmus ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I’m so glad these efforts are being made. I’ve always been so impressed with the archive at the US National Library of Congress. When the lady in this video said “we can’t know what will be important in 50 years” it really resonated.

  • @independentplatypus
    @independentplatypus ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I work in an academic library and we get a lot of interlibrary loans from the Boston Spa facility when no other universities hold a copy to borrow, it's fascinating to see the inside of it and how it works!

  • @CindersSpot
    @CindersSpot ปีที่แล้ว +19

    I went to a similar place for tv, film and digital data in the Netherlands and got a look at their archives. It was incredible.

  • @conorlamere399
    @conorlamere399 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you not just for raising awareness, but also for minimising the barrier for participating by compiling templates & contact info

  • @chloe9179
    @chloe9179 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    This is what I'm planning on doing for my career 😊😊 this video made me so proud. We study and preserve history for the future.

  • @Phyxsius88
    @Phyxsius88 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    A someone who works in an automated warehouse and has worked with TGW in the past, it was oddly thrilling to see the logo pop up. Interesting video as always!

    • @Hepad_
      @Hepad_ ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I worked for a competitor, and I'd LOVE to get to work on their new building.

    • @KPHIBYE
      @KPHIBYE ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Hepad_ I can confirm that the new headquarters is awesome to work in :)
      @Phyxsius88 The moment I saw the load carriers, I was watching out for the logo ;)

  • @MaxArthey
    @MaxArthey ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Incredible! I love the fact that archives like these exist but I really wish more areas of media had similar goals of perseveration. The amount of lost media in terms of TV, Films, Music & Video Games is really disappointing.

    • @vijay-c
      @vijay-c ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The British Library collects sound recordings and video much like it collects websites - I'm not sure what the criteria are or if it collects video games though

    • @imgladnotu9527
      @imgladnotu9527 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      and every day, piracy, as one of the few means for digital archival of media is under threat by large multinational companies who hold rights to mediums.

  • @LuftpolsterManu
    @LuftpolsterManu ปีที่แล้ว +14

    As a booklover my heart is pumping right now.

  • @shaider1982
    @shaider1982 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    It still is good that hardcopy is preserved. There’s always the problem that digital files in the cloud will be corrupted and these physical pages are a good way to double check the info.

    • @PastPresented
      @PastPresented ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Unfortunately, they're also incredibly resource-intensive ...

    • @derpinator4912
      @derpinator4912 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      To be fair, physical degradation is a huge problem with books too

  • @c4715
    @c4715 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was so interesting, and the lady you interviewed explaining that we have to keep everything as we don't know what will be important in the future is so true, I'd just never thought about it before. Incredible.

  • @AbdulMunimKazia
    @AbdulMunimKazia ปีที่แล้ว +40

    Here's an interesting fact about the British library: it also holds legal deposit status for all books published in Ireland, not just the UK!

    • @Nekiplex
      @Nekiplex ปีที่แล้ว

      Well, the "UK" is a title that encompasses England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland so it's not too surprising

    • @AbdulMunimKazia
      @AbdulMunimKazia ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Nekiplex you're joking right? Ireland is not part of the UK. Hasn't been for 100 years.

    • @AbdulMunimKazia
      @AbdulMunimKazia ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Nekiplex Ireland is a completely independent country. For example It's part of the EU where UK isn't.

    • @thegrouchization
      @thegrouchization ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@AbdulMunimKazia *Northern* Ireland is part of the UK.

    • @AbdulMunimKazia
      @AbdulMunimKazia ปีที่แล้ว

      @@thegrouchization when people generally say Ireland, they usually refer to the independent country Ireland.

  • @2712animefreak
    @2712animefreak ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I used to go to the Croatian National University Library a few years ago. I remember requesting a book so old I had trouble reading it because the language standard changed too much.

  • @KlausRosenberg-et2xv
    @KlausRosenberg-et2xv ปีที่แล้ว +6

    That is so cool! I hope it lasts forever, it's so sad the Library of Alexandria was destroyed. I can't even imagine the amount of knowledge is stored in the British Library.

  • @richardgurney1844
    @richardgurney1844 ปีที่แล้ว +52

    This reminds me of The Library in Doctor Who (series 4) - where an entire planet had been converted into 1 library containing every book ever written in the universe. Obviously in the show, the library was very "sci-fi" and mysterious - this British Library is like a real-life version
    It's really interesting this even exists! Fascinating! The amount of archiving work must be insane :o

    • @paulhaynes8045
      @paulhaynes8045 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Was it run by mice?

    • @greensteve9307
      @greensteve9307 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@paulhaynes8045
      No, by the mind of a child uploaded to a computer, but I'm guessing you're making a HHGTTG reference?

    • @paulhaynes8045
      @paulhaynes8045 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@greensteve9307 it seemed appropriate!

  • @libman2006
    @libman2006 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    3:55 Not often you see a sign like that, i like it. 😊

  • @miniman3112
    @miniman3112 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Absurdly cool building and robots! Even though digital archives might well be much bigger in data size, moving the physical stuff around is somehow more cyberpunk than I anticipated.
    Really resonating with the 'we don't know what will be important' statement as well - that's foresight but so humble.

  • @marksmithwas12
    @marksmithwas12 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    It's weird how the UK web archive didn't appear in Google searches for me until a few days ago. Now that I know it exists, I need to set aside some time to browse what they have 😮

  • @xondisco
    @xondisco ปีที่แล้ว +8

    This is utterly awe-inspiring, like something out of a Borges story or an Eco novel. It's truly sublime! ❤

    • @xondisco
      @xondisco ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Or even the L-Space from Discworld too with the orangutan librarian!

  • @mothe
    @mothe ปีที่แล้ว

    as a researcher that stumpled upon a title that was nowhere to find i greatly appreciate places like this. and the people thast work in these spaces are usually very passionate about their jobs which makes it such a pleasent experience.

  • @SaszaDerRoyt
    @SaszaDerRoyt ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I've recently been quite down about how ephemeral a lot of our media is nowadays with the internet and especially with many streaming services and other important pseudo-archives being so self-destructive in their behaviour, so to see the sheer scale of this project and the knowledge that other countries are doing the same gives me some reassurance for the future.

  • @kilometreman
    @kilometreman ปีที่แล้ว +6

    You could publish a narrative written from the perspective of the book that contains it, ranting about its journey south on a truck and grumbling at the reader for being disturbed.

    • @subjectline
      @subjectline ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Noo, they are excited to be read! They make new friends!

    • @kilometreman
      @kilometreman ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@subjectline Aww.

  • @pameladaley955
    @pameladaley955 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I interviewed for a job at The Library of Congress once. I didn't get the job (political paybacks got all the cool jobs in those days) but the interview itself took several hours and was a tour of the library!! So much fun. My life would have been so different had I got that job. Thanx so much, Tom! I pine to be there!

    • @drzander3378
      @drzander3378 ปีที่แล้ว

      I got to go ‘behind the scenes’ at the Library of Congress once. A fascinating place!

  • @argentpuck
    @argentpuck ปีที่แล้ว +87

    Having done a fair bit of research using microfiche, I appreciate that these repositories exist. They're one of the most important things humans can do: keep and share our knowledge and history. Even if it is an advertising leaflet for Sainsbury's.

    • @nogravitas7585
      @nogravitas7585 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      That leaflet is a legitimate source for tracking price trends over the decades and unlike a spreadsheet on a computer the leaflet is a lot harder to edit.

    • @EuropeanQoheleth
      @EuropeanQoheleth ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@nogravitas7585 Exactly.

  • @jamesabernethy7896
    @jamesabernethy7896 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    'We're running out of room in London... send the unpopular stuff up Norf'

  • @ashleyh7755
    @ashleyh7755 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Not the video I opened TH-cam to look for, but TH-cam knew what I needed to see.

  • @CloudAtlas89
    @CloudAtlas89 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    So, I had an interview at the British library at Boston Spa once and that's where I learned that they call those stores The Void. And you can HEAR the capital letters when they say it.
    Also I can't believe it took ten years for Tom to go to the British Library. 😂

  • @anthonyscarfe4853
    @anthonyscarfe4853 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    During my PhD I ended up with a brain injury that made me “not fit for work”, so I had to give up the research, but before that point I had done published research papers and then published my thesis. Those are in storage just in case my research is ever needed even though my research abilities will never be needed again.

    • @Ducktility
      @Ducktility ปีที่แล้ว +2

      How are you doing now mate?

    • @ringsystemmusic
      @ringsystemmusic ปีที่แล้ว +2

      how’s life now if you don’t mind saying?

  • @barriewright2857
    @barriewright2857 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Born in the UK and I did not know this facility existed. Absolutely brilliant.

  • @kitsunekaze93
    @kitsunekaze93 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    Just a fun observation, this would technically count as the largest collection of erotic fiction as well? (at least within the UK)
    Edit: yep, seems to be true
    "As part of the requirement of being a legal deposit organisation, the books they receive include pornographic or salacious material, seditious publications, those subversive of religion and works that could later be deemed by the courts as libellous."

    • @MiseFreisin
      @MiseFreisin ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Those are stored at the very back... at least, they used to be...

    • @kitsunekaze93
      @kitsunekaze93 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@MiseFreisin and suddenly all that material gets put in the front due to a rise in popularity!

    • @andreww2098
      @andreww2098 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@MiseFreisin on the top shelf

    • @Nirrrina
      @Nirrrina ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I wonder how much fanfiction is archived on their online platform?
      Also I wonder if they have any of the fanzines that were published/printed decades before the internet?
      Archive of Our Own is a similar depository in that they will archive fanfic from anywhere & regularly absorb smaller/older sites that are being closed. Works in similar ways in that they don't really limit what you post.

    • @cadenbopp
      @cadenbopp ปีที่แล้ว

      This was my only question thank you

  • @alisdair42
    @alisdair42 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Love the work that's going on, its archavists like Garry that keep us all informed as to what happens, and makes us chant 'YORKSHIRE' 3 times anytime were mentioned ❤

  • @117TheWolf
    @117TheWolf ปีที่แล้ว

    I don’t know how else other than by Tom Scott I would have ever learned of resources like this. I hope that someday, after a long and well-deserved break, Tom will return to showing us the world - even if it’s on a more modest schedule.

  • @kylevanzandbergen3285
    @kylevanzandbergen3285 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    I often get an existential morose feeling that things are just getting lost all the time, so seeing something like this is a huge relief on my mind.

    • @subn0rma1
      @subn0rma1 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      If you view the universe through the scale of cosmic time, this entire library will be consumed by the sun in the next blink of the eye

    • @LazyBuddyBan
      @LazyBuddyBan ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @@subn0rma1 If you view your mom through the scale of cosmic time, she's still too large

  • @adamntcaponewholikesbigcoo1749
    @adamntcaponewholikesbigcoo1749 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    “ why do you want a card”
    “ I need to learn all of the Peppa Pig Magazine lore”