British Museum Reading Room

British Museum Reading Room
Inside the Reading Room, before its conversion to an exhibition space
General information
Town or city	Bloomsbury, London
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°31′10″N 00°07′37″W / 51.51944°N 0.12694°W / 51.51944; -0.12694
Construction started	1854
Completed	1857
Technical details
Structural system	Segmented domed
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Sydney Smirke

The British Museum Reading Room, situated in the centre of the Great Court of the British Museum, used to be the main reading room of the British Library. In 1997, this function moved to the new British Library building at St Pancras, London, but the Reading Room remains in its original form at the British Museum.

Designed by Sydney Smirke and opened in 1857, the Reading Room was in continual use until its temporary closure for renovation in 1997. It was reopened in 2000, and from 2007 to 2017 it was used to stage temporary exhibitions. The reading room was closed to the public again in 2013 and converted for use as the museum's archive. It was reopened for guided tours in 2023, and reopened for general visitors in July 2024.^[1]