Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands 11 May – 25 September 2012

• The British Library explores literature inspired by spaces and places around the British Isles, from Penny Lane to Platform 9 ¾

As the world’s attention turns to the UK this summer, Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands explores treasures from the last 1000 years of English literature that have been shaped by the country’s unique spaces and places. From idyllic rural landscapes to gritty cities, the exhibition will showcase a literary map of the British Isles and highlight how writers, from William Shakespeare and Walter Scott to John Lennon and J K Rowling, have recorded the changing spaces of the British Isles in some of their greatest literary works, and in turn inspired their readers to explore the country in new ways. http://www.bl.uk/writingbritain

British Library Board appoints new Chief Executive

The Board of the British Library has appointed Roly Keating as the Library’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Keating, currently Director of Archive Content at the BBC, and a former Controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, will take up his new role on 12 September 2012.

Olympic philatelic collecting brought to life at the British Library

Olympex 2012: Collecting the Olympic Games, 25 July to 9 September, the British Library, St Pancras – admission FREE

The history, symbolism and personal stories of the Olympic Games will come to life through philately this summer at a special exhibition presented by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the British Library.

Olympex 2012: Collecting the Olympic Games is a visually striking exhibition that will use postage stamps, postcards, letters, programmes and maps to provide unique insights into the Olympic Games, past and present. Beginning with the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, Olympex 2012 will also focus on the London Games in 1908 and 1948, bringing the story into the present day with the London 2012 Games.

What connects a life-saving Bible, a crucifix in a bottle and a postcard from Hitler?

Web portal Europeana has collected and shared these extraordinary personal stories of World War 1 from across Europe.

Untold and extraordinary real-life stories from World War 1 have come to light and will be shared online as a result of family history roadshows run by the digital innovation service Europeana. They include a life-saving Bible, the first-hand testimony of a centenarian, and a postcard from a 27-year-old soldier named Adolf Hitler, which suggests that the future dictator had problems with his teeth and his spelling.