| History |  |
Designed by Sydney Smirke on a suggestion by the Library's Chief Librarian Anthony Panizzi, following an earlier competition idea by William Hosking, the Reading Room was in continual use from 1857 until its temporary closure in 1997. The Reading Room's domed roof is metal framed, and the surface that makes up the ceiling is a type of papier-mâché. Access was restricted to registered researchers only; however, reader's credentials were generally available to anyone who could show that they were a serious researcher. The Reading Room was used by a large number of famous figures, including notably Mohammad Ali Jinnah,Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, Mahatma Gandhi, Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell, George Bernard Shaw, Lenin, Norbert Elias, Arthur Rimbaud and H. G. Wells. |
| Description | |
Le Walter and Leonore Annenberg Centre met à disposition 50 terminaux informatiques qui permettent de consulter des milliers d'objets conservés par le musée. La Paul Hamlyn Library, qui propose quelque 12 000 ouvrages, traitant des divers aspects des collections du musée et des cultures desquelles elles sont issues. Un guichet d'information (Enquiry Desk) est situé dans la Reading Room. |
