Bodleian Library, Academic library in Oxford, England
The Bodleian Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford, occupying five buildings near Broad Street: the 15th-century Duke Humfrey's Library, the 17th-century Schools Quadrangle, the 18th-century Clarendon Building and Radcliffe Camera, and the 20th- and 21st-century Weston Library. Its long stone facade has three storeys of windows, a parapet with pinnacles, and an arched wooden door set in a pointed stone archway with carved foliage and shields.
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.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,319 contributors worldwide.
