The Bodleian
The Bodleian is the main research library of the University of Oxford, opened in 1602 and now the centre of a group of libraries known as the Bodleian Libraries; Oxford people call it the Bod. It is named after Sir Thomas Bodley, the diplomat who refounded the University's library at the end of the sixteenth century.
In practice
The Bodleian is a legal deposit library, entitled to a copy of every book published in the UK, so its collections run to many millions of items stored on site and in a large book storage facility outside the city. Its historic core is the Old Bodleian around the Schools Quadrangle, with the Radcliffe Camera and the Weston Library across the street. Every new reader still makes a formal declaration, in use for centuries, promising not to remove or damage books and not to bring fire or flame into the library.
Why it matters to newcomers
University members get a reader's card automatically. Others - visiting researchers, professionals with a research need - can apply for a card, and the Weston Library's exhibitions, shop and café are open to everyone. Guided tours are the only way for most visitors to see the oldest reading rooms.
Related
- Rad Cam - the round reading room that belongs to it
- Sheldonian Theatre - its neighbour on the same square of streets
- Quad - the Schools Quadrangle is one of the city's best known
Source: Bodleian Libraries.