Taylor Institution

The Taylor Institution is a building on St Giles that collects and stores academic literature on modern European languages. Spread across multiple floors are around 500,000 books in different languages, reading rooms, and work spaces for researchers.

The institution was established in 1845 through the will of Robert Taylor, a private individual who gave Oxford the means to formally institutionalize research on European languages. This was a key step in establishing such studies as a distinct academic field.

The collections reflect Oxford's commitment to understanding European languages and literatures by preserving works in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, and Slavonic languages. These books show how important the connection to the cultures of the rest of Europe has been to British scholarship.

Visitors and researchers can move through specialized reading rooms and work there or borrow books. Access depends on academic affiliation, but many areas are open to interested visitors as well.

The collection preserves rare literary treasures, including one of only two known copies of the original edition of Benjamin Constant's novel Adolphe. This rarity makes the archive a valuable research destination for literary historians from around the world.