The National Poetry Library — Mission Statement

We believe poetry is for everyone to enjoy and is a great way to understand the world around us.

The poetry that excites us includes all languages, dialects and accents in which it is written, wherever they are spoken and written, and we aim to collect them all. We collect and lend every style and form of poetry, in every format, as widely as possible for free, for everyone:

● for those who are new to poetry and those who can’t live without it
● for readers and poets
● for families and children, for researchers and teachers
● for poetry that is canonical, emerging or overlooked
● for the curious

We deliver this nationally:

● as the largest public lending library of modern poetry in the world
● by joining up members from all over the UK
● by digitising our collections to read and listen to wherever you are

The National Poetry Library has been deemed by the British Library to be part of the National Documentary Heritage.