LibGuides@Southampton: British Library Cyber Attack : Home

Helpful Links

British Library Catalogue
This catalogue is a searchable version of the main catalogue of books and other printed material, and some freely available electronic resources.
Updates and FAQs
Information about the attack and updates on the restoration of services.
British Library cyber incident review
An overview of the cyber-attack on the British Library that took place in October 2020. Examining its implications for the Library’s operations, future infrastructure, risk assessment and lessons learned.
Knowledge Matters Blog
The corporate blog of the British Library, revealing the strategic bigger picture at the UK national library and going behind the scenes of a wide range of activities, projects and programmes.

Information regarding the Cyber Attack

On October 2023, the British Library experienced a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack.

The outage has affected their website, online systems and services, as well as some onsite services, however their buildings are still open as usual.

The British Library has created a searchable online version of their main catalogue, which contains the majority of their printed collections, but not everything is included. It is a snapshot as of April 2023, and will not be updated with any new records for the time being.

Catalogue data included:	Catalogue data not included:
Printed books	Audio content
Printed journals	Video content
Rare books	Manuscripts
Printed maps	Archives
Printed music scores	Visual arts content
Some newspapers	Journal articles
Freely available online content	Databases and other e-resources
	Links to most online content