Who ikes old books?

You know the wallpaper you can get, the one which looks like shelves of old books.

The new British Library at Kings Cross doesn't have it in their cafe.

The cafe at the new British Library building (opened 1998) has a very modern glass wall.

The other side of the glass wall is a wall the size of the building, extending above the ceiling of the cafe and below its' floor.

It's not a brick wall though: this building-sized wall is an expanse of real, old books. Really old books. Real, really old books.

(And what's more anyone[1] can walk in to the British Library and go to their cafe.)

([1] Assuming you don't mind queuing for a while to have your bag searched, and being prepared to explain that in the small bag in your bag is a knitting needle and some new fabric bought in Libertys, and that other object is just a crochet hook... )