The British Library is teaming up with the Library of Birmingham on a new cultural partnership which will include a special project to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.
The ground-breaking initiative has arisen from talks designed to help support the cash-strapped Library of Birmingham as the city council struggles with budget cuts.
A cultural partnership, the deal will allow both organisations to share expertise and work on joint projects around the Library of Birmingham's world-class historic archives and collections.
They will also work on a special programme to mark anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 2016.
The two organisations already work together on the business and IP centre which supports local entrepreneurs.
The British Library says this deal will be a pilot for links with other major libraries throughout the country.
Council cabinet member for culture Penny Holbrook said: "The British Library's collections and curatorial expertise is a world-class asset which further enhances the renowned collections at the Library of Birmingham, including our Shakespeare and photographic collections, and draws on our reputation for engaging with local communities.
"This new partnership will be an opportunity to test new ways of working together to increase the impact of both organisations during the Shakespeare anniversary year.
"It will also start a programme of sharing skills across our workforces which I hope will lead to further opportunities for collaboration in the longer term.
"I am delighted that Birmingham is at the forefront of this development and look forward to continuing to develop our partnership with the British Library which already has strong foundations in the work we have delivered through the business and intellectual property centre.
"However, we must recognise that this will not solve all the challenges we face with the Library of Birmingham, but it is a positive start for looking at different ways of working."
While the deal will bolster the specialist services offered by the library, it will not immediately see any increase in opening hours.
The council has come under severe criticism for cutting the hours from 73 per week to 40 and making staff redundant as part of a £1.3 million package of cuts.
Roly Keating, chief executive of the British Library, said: "We're delighted to be building on the strong foundations of our existing work with Library of Birmingham as part of the network of business and IP centres in public libraries across the country.
"As custodians of two of the world's greatest Shakespeare collections, it's especially exciting that our two libraries will be working closely together during next year's anniversary celebrations."
