Bodleian Library, Academic library in Oxford, England
The Bodleian Library is an academic library in Oxford, England, that spreads across several buildings including Duke Humfrey's Library, the Schools Quadrangle, and the Radcliffe Camera. It holds more than 13 million printed items as well as manuscripts from different eras.
Sir Thomas Bodley revived in 1602 an earlier collection from the 14th century that had been housed above the University Church of St. Mary. He negotiated with London booksellers to secure regular shipments of new works to the reopened library.
The name honors Sir Thomas Bodley, an English diplomat who refounded the institution and gave it his family name. Today visitors see the historic reading rooms with tall wooden bookcases and carved ceilings, while students and researchers work at long tables.
This institution operates as a reference library where materials may only be consulted inside the reading rooms and cannot be borrowed. Visitors must make a formal declaration to protect the collections before gaining access to the reading areas.
A copy of every book published in the United Kingdom reaches this collection thanks to legal deposit rights. The underground storage rooms go several stories below street level to accommodate the continuously growing holdings.
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