PRESS RELEASE
29 January 2001
The British Library's New Catalogue Gives Free Access to Over 500
Years of Human Endeavour
http://blpc.bl.uk/
Details of over 10 million books, journals, reports, conferences and
music scores covering every aspect of human thought since 1450
will be available to anyone with a PC via the new British Library
Public Catalogue. The collection of one of the world’s greatest
research libraries will be online to help track down that elusive book
or journal anytime of the day or night - details and it won't cost a
penny to use.
Launched on 29th January, the British Library Public Catalogue is
the most recent product of the Library's drive to make its collections
more accessible. Academics, business people, researchers, or
anyone of a curious disposition can find detailed bibliographic
records on any subject. Simply search the site, located at
blpc.bl.uk, and order articles and conference papers direct from the
Document Supply Centre, or contact the British Library for details of
how to access the renowned reading rooms at St Pancras, London.
Previewed to great acclaim at the Online Information Exhibition at
Olympia in London last December, The British Library Public
Catalogue (BLPC) builds on the huge success of the Online Public
Access Catalogue (OPAC 97) service system, which attracted more
than 2 million hits each month last year. It will be available twenty-
four hours a day, seven days a week, and will include an additional
music catalogue which heralds the first of many British Library files
not previously available online.
The British Library Public Catalogue boasts features that ease and
enhance searching, including facilities to search across the whole
catalogue, through individual or any combination of files. It also
offers advanced search function along with improved display of non-
Roman character sets, for example, Cyrillic. Guidance through the
site appears automatically, courtesy of on-screen context-sensitive
help.
Further information on BLPC and related services is available from
John Lowery, The British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West
Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, telephone +44 (0)1937 546551, email
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Comprehensive information on the Library's collection and services
is available on the British Library Website at http://www.bl.uk/
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