British Library Doctoral Open Days
The British Library’s annual programme of Doctoral Open Days offers current and prospective research students and other researchers new to the collections an introduction to the practicalities of using the Library and help in navigating the physical and online collections.
The series begins with a webinar to introduce attendees to the British Library, show them how to access the collections and share details of other researcher development opportunities, including the PhD Placement Scheme and fellowship opportunities. This is complemented by in-person Open Days at their St Pancras site, each focusing on a specific area of the collection.
These events are an opportunity to meet collection curators, quiz their reference specialists, and chat to other students in your field of study. Find out more about the full series below and on the British Library website.
Thursday 16th October 2025 – Getting Started with the British Library (Webinar)
What is the British Library? What’s in the collection? How can I find what I need? What development opportunities are available?
Join us online for an introduction to the British Library for prospective and current PhD researchers of all disciplines looking to engage with our collections. This event may also be useful for Higher Education staff who support postgraduate research.
Find out more and register here.
Friday 31st October 2025 – Music, Sound and Vision (In-person, St Pancras)
Explore collections covering printed music and music manuscripts, visual arts, moving image recordings, and audio recordings, including oral history, literary and creative sound recordings and wildlife and environmental sounds. Find out more and register here.
Friday 28th November 2025 – Europe, Americas and Oceania (In-person, St Pancras)
Learn about the British Library’s geographic collection areas covering the Americas and Oceania and modern European languages. This event is co-hosted with the School of Advanced Study’s Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies and Senate House Library. Find out more and register here.
Friday 30th January 2026 – British and European Collections: Antiquity to 1800
Meet curators of our printed materials, archives, manuscript collections and map collections covering antiquity to 1800. Find out more and register here.
Friday 27th February 2026 – Asian and African Collections
Hear about our Asian and African Collections, covering Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as our Visual Arts collections. Find out more and register here.
Friday 27th March 2026 – British Collections: 1800-1950
Explore our printed materials, archives, manuscript collections and map collections covering 1800-1950. Find out more and register here.
Friday 24th April 2026 – Contemporary British and Irish Collections
Learn about our contemporary archives, manuscripts and printed collections and hear from our Oral History and News and Moving Images teams. Find out more and register here.
Friday 29th May 2026 – Digital Collections and Resources
Learn more about our digital collections, including the UK Web Archive, and digitised materials. Hear from researchers on the use of collections metadata as a resource for research, as well as a panel on AI in the digital humanities. Find out more and register here.
To hear more about future research events and opportunities at the British Library, join their mailing list by opting into ‘Researching with us’ via their MyInterests form. If you have any questions about the Doctoral Open Days, please email pgr@bl.uk