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British Library

In research, British Library stands highest in Social Sciences (#8,224 of 9,585 worldwide), 2022-now.

bl.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#18,461
of 22,385 · #4,821 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#650
of 862
Research works
1.6k
▼ 56% vs 2018-21
Citations
8.4k
5.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
7.9%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.97×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
22%
world 40%
International
9%
world 18%
British Library

What is British Library known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #8,224 of 9,585 7.7%75 #1598

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where British Library sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does British Library work in?

In 2022-now, 75% of research at British Library is in Social Sciences, 17% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Arts and Humanities (41%), Social Sciences (27%), Computer Science (11%). It does 2.8× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 82 fractional works · 75.0% of its workArts and Humanities: 45 fractional works · 41.1% of its workConservation: 9 fractional works · 8.1% of its workArcheology: 6 fractional works · 5.7% of its workHistory: 6 fractional works · 5.3% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 5 fractional works · 4.6% of its workMusic: 4 fractional works · 3.9% of its workClassics: 3 fractional works · 3.1% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 3 fractional works · 2.8% of its workMuseology: 3 fractional works · 2.7% of its workReligious studies: 3 fractional works · 2.4% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSocial Sciences: 29 fractional works · 26.7% of its workSociology and Political Science: 9 fractional works · 8.2% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 6 fractional works · 5.4% of its workAnthropology: 5 fractional works · 4.8% of its workLibrary and Information Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workLaw: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCultural Studies: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Social Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workLinguistics and Language: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGender Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDemography: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSafety Research: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPublic Administration: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHealth: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workTransportation: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 3 fractional works · 2.6% of its workManagement Information Systems: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workMarketing: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workStrategy and Management: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPsychology: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical Sciences: 19 fractional works · 17.0% of its workComputer Science: 12 fractional works · 11.3% of its workInformation Systems: 8 fractional works · 7.6% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workComputer Science Applications: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHuman-Computer Interaction: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEngineering: 3 fractional works · 2.4% of its workAerospace Engineering: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSpace and Planetary Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEcology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 7 fractional works · 6.7% of its workMedicine: 6 fractional works · 5.3% of its workReproductive Medicine: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workNeurology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOphthalmology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPathology and Forensic Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOrthopedics and Sports Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGenetics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKBritish Library110fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences1%Physical Sciences17%Health Sciences7%Social Sciences75%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 21 fields, with their numbers
    1. Arts and Humanities4541.1%
    2. Social Sciences2926.7%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting32.6%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance21.9%
    5. Psychology11.3%
    6. Decision Sciences11.3%
    1. Computer Science1211.3%
    2. Engineering32.4%
    3. Earth and Planetary Sciences11.1%
    4. Environmental Science11.0%
    5. Physics and Astronomy00.4%
    6. Materials Science00.4%
    7. Chemistry00.3%
    8. Mathematics00.1%
    1. Medicine65.3%
    2. Health Professions11.2%
    3. Nursing00.2%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences10.5%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology00.4%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology00.3%
    4. Neuroscience00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.46× its world share, 12 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.71× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.16× its world share, 3 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.20× its world share, 1 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.20× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.46× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.28× its world share, 6 worksMedicineNursing: 0.31× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 14.24× its world share, 45 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.82× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.32× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.90× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.43× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.11× its world share, 29 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 14.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 21 fields, with their numbers
  1. Arts and Humanities14.24×45 works
  2. Social Sciences2.11×29 works
  3. Computer Science1.46×12 works
  4. Decision Sciences1.32×1 works
  5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.90×2 works
  6. Business, Management and Accounting0.82×3 works
  7. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.71×1 works
  8. Health Professions0.46×1 works
  9. Psychology0.43×1 works
  10. Nursing0.31×0 works
  11. Medicine0.28×6 works
  12. Immunology and Microbiology0.25×0 works
  13. Environmental Science0.20×1 works
  14. Physics and Astronomy0.20×0 works
  15. Chemistry0.19×0 works
  16. Engineering0.16×3 works
  17. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.11×1 works
  18. Materials Science0.11×0 works
  19. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.08×0 works
  20. Neuroscience0.07×0 works
  21. Mathematics0.05×0 works

Who are the top researchers at British Library?

Ranked on the quality score, Simone Curzio Bacchini, Daniel van Strien and Giles Mandelbrote lead among researchers whose main affiliation is British Library.

  1. 1 Simone Curzio Bacchini United Kingdom · #880,024 worldwide 955 citations · 44 works
  2. 2 Daniel van Strien United Kingdom · #1,102,440 worldwide 1.3k citations · 53 works
  3. 3 Giles Mandelbrote United Kingdom · #1,520,338 worldwide 582 citations · 24 works
  4. 4 Marion Wallace United Kingdom · #1,531,687 worldwide 501 citations · 31 works
  5. 5 Polly Russell United Kingdom · #1,592,280 worldwide 378 citations · 16 works
  6. 6 Jacob P. Dalton United Kingdom · #1,729,729 worldwide 156 citations · 58 works
  7. 7 David N Wood United Kingdom · #1,742,105 worldwide 209 citations · 26 works
  8. 8 Angela Dappert United Kingdom · #1,871,754 worldwide 262 citations · 35 works
  9. 9 Michael W. Hill United Kingdom · #1,926,473 worldwide 865 citations · 47 works
  10. 10 Katrina Dean United Kingdom · #1,959,115 worldwide 223 citations · 27 works
All ranked researchers at British Library

What are the most cited papers from British Library?

The most cited paper from British Library is "What's In A Name? Malay Seals As Onomastic Sources" (Annabel Teh Gallop, 2018), with 1,506 citations. Next come "Toward interoperable bioscience data" (473) and "The Oral History Reader" (468).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 What's In A Name? Malay Seals As Onomastic Sources Annabel Teh Gallop · Malay Literature Open access Jun 2018 1,506
2 Toward interoperable bioscience data Susanna‐Assunta Sansone et al. · Nature Genetics Open access 27 Jan 2012 473
3 The Oral History Reader Robert Perks, Alistair Thomson 30 May 2006 468
4 EmoNet: Fine-Grained Emotion Detection with Gated Recurrent Neural Networks Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, Lyle Ungar Conference paperOpen access 2017 387
5 Effective uses of social media in public health and medicine: a systematic review of systematic reviews Dean Giustini, Syed Mustafa Ali, Matthew Fraser et al. · Online Journal of Public Health Informatics ReviewOpen access 21 Sep 2018 291
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at British Library?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: History, Religion, Cultural Heritage, Gender, Culture, Literature, Colonialism and Nationalism.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. History10▲ 12×17 topics
  2. Religion8▲ 15×10 topics
  3. Cultural Heritage7▲ 12×10 topics
  4. Culture7▲ 11×11 topics
  5. Gender7▲ 11×16 topics
  6. Literature6▲ 11×14 topics
  7. Colonialism6▲ 11×15 topics
  8. Digital Repositories6▲ 149×2 topics
  9. Nationalism6▲ 12×10 topics
  10. Identity5▲ 6.6×12 topics
  11. Archives5▲ 349×1 topic
  12. Digital Preservation5▲ 306×1 topic
  13. Data Citation5▲ 89×2 topics
  14. Philosophy5▲ 9.8×5 topics
  15. Conservation5▲ 9.7×4 topics
  16. Society4▲ 21×7 topics
  17. Cultural Sustainability4▲ 66×2 topics
  18. Data Sharing4▲ 110×2 topics
  19. Ethnomusicology4▲ 81×2 topics
  20. Cultural Exchange4▲ 25×5 topics
  21. Urban Development4▲ 9.0×6 topics
  22. Semantic Web3▲ 32×3 topics
  23. Linked Data3▲ 74×2 topics
  24. Bibliographic Framework3▲ 352×1 topic
  25. Resource Description and Access3▲ 352×1 topic
  26. Social Justice3▲ 4.8×3 topics
  27. Environmental Monitoring3▲ 7.1×1 topic
  28. Museum Environments3▲ 142×1 topic
  29. Medieval3▲ 75×3 topics
  30. Cultural Studies3▲ 6.6×6 topics
  31. Indigenous Knowledge3▲ 24×2 topics
  32. Copyright Law2▲ 119×2 topics
  33. Environmental Sustainability2▲ 14×2 topics
  34. Historiography2▲ 19×6 topics
  35. Open Science2▲ 87×1 topic
  36. Scientific Data Management2▲ 87×1 topic
  37. Adaptive Reuse2▲ 58×1 topic
  38. Cultural Conservation2▲ 84×1 topic
  39. Ecomusicology2▲ 91×1 topic
  40. Manuscripts2▲ 101×2 topics

Which research topics does British Library publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Digital and Traditional Archives Management, Library Science and Information Systems, Conservation Techniques and Studies and Research Data Management Practices.

Digital and Traditional Archives Management: 5 fractional worksLibrary Science and Information Systems: 3 fractional worksConservation Techniques …3Conservation Techniques and Studies: 3 fractional worksResearch Data Management…2Research Data Management Practices: 2 fractional worksDiverse Musicological Studies: 2 fractional worksCultural Heritage Management and Preservation: 2 fractional worksIndian and Buddhist Stud…2Indian and Buddhist Studies: 2 fractional worksDigital Humanities and Scholarship: 2 fractional worksMuseums and Cultural Heritage: 2 fractional worksLibrary Science and Administration: 2 fractional works
ConservationInformation SystemsMusicArcheology4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Digital and Traditional Archives Management Conservation 5 works
  2. 2 Library Science and Information Systems Information Systems 3 works
  3. 3 Conservation Techniques and Studies Conservation 3 works
  4. 4 Research Data Management Practices Information Systems 2 works
  5. 5 Diverse Musicological Studies Music 2 works
  6. 6 Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation Archeology 2 works
  7. 7 Indian and Buddhist Studies Religious studies 2 works
  8. 8 Digital Humanities and Scholarship Literature and Literary Theory 2 works
  9. 9 Museums and Cultural Heritage Museology 2 works
  10. 10 Library Science and Administration Library and Information Sciences 2 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available21.7%not open78.3%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors8.9%domestic only91.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has British Library's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 56% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is British Library as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00043% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%British Library0.00050% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of British Library over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%30%all institutions10.0% in 2025British Library6.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 20.8% in 2009.

Other research institutions in London

All research institutions in London

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British Library on Science Explorer

A card with British Library's standing and the fields it leads in, for a post or a slide. A link to this page previews as the same card.

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Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.

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