Complaints procedure
The British Library is committed to providing an excellent user experience and welcomes all comments to ensure we are continually improving our services.
How to give us your feedback
If a problem arises please speak to a member of staff who will try to help you.
If you prefer to put your complaint in writing, you can:
- Fill in a comment form, available in every Reading Room, in the Readers’ Lounge and at the Information Desk.
- Send an email to service-improvement@bl.uk
- Fill in our on-line comment form
- Or write a letter to:
Service Improvement
The British Library
FREEPOST LON 12686
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2QY
For Remote Services (Document Supply), you can:
- Send an email to customer-services@bl.uk
- Or write a letter to:
Customer Services
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BQ
All comments, compliments and suggestions are also invited and taken seriously.
What you can expect from us
If you have requested a response, we will get back to you within 10 working days. If we think that it may take longer to get a full answer for you we will still reply to you within 10 working days to let you know.
Even if you do not require a response or would prefer your comment to be anonymous, we will still take note, and wherever possible act to make improvements.
We’re always finding ways to improve our services through your comments, our regular Reading Room satisfaction surveys and all other forms of user feedback that we receive.
The British Library's compensation and refund policy
The Library is a public sector organisation that relies on funding and public donations. Whilst we work hard to ensure a consistently high level of service and we will investigate any lapse in this standard which you let us know about, it is our policy never to give a financial compensation for an error or poor service.
What to do if you are not satisfied with the response
If you don’t think that we’ve handled your complaint properly, please write to Jeremy Shillito, Head of Reader & Visitor Services, who will investigate your comments further.
Jeremy Shillito
Head of Reader & Visitor Services
The British Library
FREEPOST LON 12686
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2QY
Or email jeremy.shillito@bl.uk
Please do reference your previous correspondence to ensure we conduct a thorough investigation.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, please contact Jeremy Shillito and we will conduct a further senior management investigation.
