Mister Memory.(Bart Smith)(Interview)

Byline: Daniel Griffin

Mister Memory

Solid and robust, the 14 floors of the British Library (nine above ground, and five below) are a monument to memory, a haven for information. Since Bart Smith joined the institution in the late 1970s, his role has been to support that purpose, and he has done so on the front line.

Smith has nearly 30 years of unbroken service to the British Library under his belt. He has seen some big changes to the institution in his time, such as its move into the largest public building constructed in the UK during the 20th century, at St Pancras, in London.

In possession of a quick, almost frantic energy, Smith peppers our interview with facts and figures galore. You can feel his enthusiasm in the revelation of a nugget of information, but however random and refreshingly off-message those rare titbits seem at first, they all add up to some interesting listening.

It helps that Smith has a playful, even mischievous streak. There are tongue-in-cheek tales of despicable journalists and rude royals.

Recalling the time when the British Library was no more than a construction site, Smith says: "It's not like they were digging a hole in the middle of nowhere; there were the sewage works, gas, electricity, water pipes and the Underground system to consider. There was even a disused graveyard they discovered.