British Library to restore access to main catalogue on 15th Jan after cyberattack outage

A reference-only version of the British Library’s (BL) main catalogue will be online again from 15th January 2024, when the library will begin a "phased return" of some services after October’s cyberattack.

An inter-library loan system will also be made available, alongside "increased on-site access" to the library’s special collections and manuscripts, while the main catalogue will help with manual orders.

"Each of these offerings will initially be somewhat different from our normal service," said Sir Roll Keating, chief executive of the BL.

In a statement, he explained that "the journey to full recovery will be long one" and that the library is also working on a "a much broader programme of secure infrastructure rebuilding".

The BL was the target of a ransomware attack by a criminal group called Rhysida, which caused major disruption to its services. The hackers breached the library’s systems, destroying some parts and releasing data onto the dark web, and the library’s collection could not be retrieved in the London and Yorkshire reading rooms.

The library’s catalogue, website and online learning resources have been unavailable during this time. However, despite the services in its reading rooms being limited, its physical sites have remained open for people to visit. Datasets contained in the BL’s Digital Library System, such as the digital legal deposit content, are safe.

"The Library itself remains a crime scene, with a forensic investigation of our disrupted network still ongoing," Keating said in the statement, published on 15th December 2023. "In parallel, our teams are examining and analysing the almost 600 gigabytes of leaked material that the attackers dumped online – difficult and complex work that is likely to take months."

Moreover, the attack has caused some disruption to the Public Lending Right (PLR) service. On 5th December, the library announced that it was unable to deliver Irish PLR statements or make the payments that were supposed to come through this month. It did not say when these payments would be made, adding that some disruption to services may continue for several months, although it plans to restore many of its services in the coming weeks.

UK PLR may also be affected during this time, according to the library, which also said that it is currently unable to register new titles or users for PLR payment. It added that the registration deadline for next year’s payment is 30th June 2024, by which point it aims for the registration system to be set up and functioning normally.