Entrance to the Library, with the coats-of-arms of several Oxford colleges

The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England is second in size only to the British Library. It is one of five copyright deposit libraries in the United Kingdom. Download high resolution version (400x603, 62 KB)Bodleian Library entrance, Oxford, 2004-01-24. ... Download high resolution version (400x603, 62 KB)Bodleian Library entrance, Oxford, 2004-01-24. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... British Library Ossulston St entrance, with distinctive red logo. ... United States Library of Congress, Jefferson building A national library is a library specifically established by the government of a nation to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. ...

History

The Radcliffe Camera, part of the Bodleian

The Bodleian Library (officially Bodley's Library) in Oxford, England — known informally to centuries of Oxford scholars as "the Bod" — opened in 1602 with a collection of 2000 books assembled by Thomas Bodley (of Merton College) to replace the library that had been donated to the Divinity School by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (and brother of Henry V of England), but had been dispersed in the 16th century. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... This page is about the year. ... Thomas Bodley Sir Thomas Bodley (March 2, 1545 - January 28, 1613), was an English diplomat and scholar, founder of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. ... College name The House of Scholars of Merton Named after Walter de Merton Established 1264 Sister College Peterhouse Warden Prof. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ... Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390 - February 23, 1447) was the fifth son of King Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun. ... Henry V, (August 9 or September 16, 1387 – August 31, 1422), King of England (1413-1422), son of Henry IV by Mary de Bohun, was born at Monmouth, Wales, in August or September 1386 or 1387. ...

In 1610 Bodley made an agreement with the Stationers' Company in London to put a copy of every book registered with them in the library. The Bodleian collection grew so fast that the first expansion of the building was required in 1610–1612, and another in 1634–1637. When John Selden died in 1654, he left the Bodleian his large collection of books and manuscripts. // Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. ... John Selden (December 16, 1584 - November 30, 1654) was an English jurist, legal antiquary and oriental scholar. ...

In 1911 the Copyright Act continued the Stationers' agreement by making the Bodleian one of the six (at that time) libraries in the United Kingdom where a copy of each book copyrighted must be deposited. See: Legal deposit. 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) is a British Act of Parliament which regulates the legal deposit of publications in the United Kingdom. ... United States Library of Congress, Jefferson building A national library is a library specifically established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. ...

Two floors of bookstack opened beneath the Radcliffe Camera and Radcliffe Square in 1913, and a large new bookstack and reading room, the New Bodleian building, was built in the 1930s. A tunnel under Broad Street connects the Old and New Bodleians, and contains a pedestrian walkway, a mechanical book conveyor and a pneumatic Lamson tube system for book orders. The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, England, was built by James Gibbs between 1737 and 1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pneumatic tubes are systems of air-driven containers in a network of tubes used for transporting physical objects. ...

Tower of the Five Orders

The Bodleian Library is situated in the Tower of the Five Orders. The Tower is so named because it is ornamented, in ascending order, with the columns of each of the five orders of classical architecture: Doric, Tuscan, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. From the point of view of modern times, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean sometimes seem to blend smoothly into one melange we call the Classical. ... The uncompleted Doric temple at Segesta, Sicily, has been waiting for finishing of its surfaces since 430 - 420 BC The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. ... The Tuscan order in Andrea Palladio, Quattro Libri di Architettura, 1570 Among the classical orders of architecture, the Tuscan order is the newcomer, a stocky simplified variant of the Doric order that was introduced into the canon of classical architecture by Italian architectural theorists of the 16th century. ... Architects first real look at the Greek Ionic order: Julien David LeRoy, Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce Paris, 1758 (Plate XX) The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ... A capital of the Composite order The composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order with the leaves of the Corinthian order. ...

The astronomer Thomas Hornsby observed the transit of Venus from this tower in 1769. Thomas Hornsby (1733—1810) was a British astronomer and mathematician. ... The 2004 transit of Venus A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, obscuring a small portion of the Suns disc. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The Library today

Blank Bodleian Library reader's card or 'Bod Card' - required for access to most of the library's facilities. Such cards exhibit a photograph of the reader, name, subject, academic status, and reader number, which appears below the barcode.

Today, the Bodleian includes several off-site storage areas as well as nine other libraries in Oxford: Blank Bodleian Library readers card This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Blank Bodleian Library readers card This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

• the Bodleian Japanese Library
• the Bodleian Law Library
• the Hooke Library
• the Indian Institute Library
• the Oriental Institute Library
• the Philosophy Library
• the Radcliffe Science Library
• the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House
• the Vere Harmsworth Library

The sites now contain 9 million items on 176 km of shelving, and have seats for 2500 readers.

Before being able to access the library, new readers must make the following declaration....

I hereby undertake not to remove from the Library, nor to mark, deface, or injure in any way, any volume, document or other object belonging to it or in its custody; not to bring into the Library, or kindle therein, any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the Library; and I promise to obey all rules of the Library.

.... A translation of the following traditional Latin oath:

Do fidem me nullum librum vel instrumentum aliamve quam rem ad bibliothecam pertinentem, vel ibi custodiae causa depositam, aut e bibliotheca sublaturum esse, aut foedaturum deformaturum aliove quo modo laesurum; item neque ignem nec flammam in bibliothecam inlaturum vel in ea accensurum, neque fumo nicotiano aliove quovis ibi usurum; item promitto me omnes leges ad bibliothecam Bodleianam attinentes semper observaturum esse. (Leges bibliothecae bodleianae alta voce prae legendae custodis iussu).

Digital developments

The Oxford Digital Library (ODL) is a key component of the e-strategy of Oxford University Library Services (OULS). It has been established to develop the technical infrastructure for an enhanced service, providing online access to the collections. The Bodleian Library has also [1] offered its support for the establishment of the JournalServer open-access digital library and allocated resources on the Oxford Digital Library Servers. The Oxford Digital Library started operationally in July 2001 and has a small collection of digital archives. JournalServer is an Oxford-based international initiative to create a digital library of academic journals freely available to the public. ...

The Bodleian for some years had on its website a statement that nothing in its collection should appear online except as part of an initiative of its own, and that no permission would be granted for a photograph paid for by the user to be placed online. This policy may still be in effect, but is no longer prominent on the website. No digital photography is permitted by readers, which means that the majority of its manuscript holdings remain unrecorded. Indeed until very recently readers were not permitted to make their own photocopies, although this regulation has now been relaxed to some degree.

The Bodleian Library in fiction

The Library's fine architecture has made it a favourite location for filmmakers. It can be seen in Another Country (1984), The Madness of King George III (1994) and the first two Harry Potter films, in which the Divinity School doubles as the Hogwarts hospital wing and Duke Humphrey's Library as the Hogwarts library. The Radcliffe Camera makes an appearance in The Saint (1997). Another Country is a play by Julian Mitchell loosely based upon the life of the spy Guy Burgess, called Guy Bennett in the play, examining the effect that his homosexuality and his exposure to Marxism have on him and the hypocrisy and snobbery of the British public school system. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Madness of King George is a 1994 film which tells the story of King George III of the United Kingdoms deteriorating mental health, and the equally declining relationship between him and his son, the Prince of Wales. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series. ... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional school of magic that is the main setting of the Harry Potter series of novels. ... The Saint is a 1997 film based on the character Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s for a series of books known as The Saint. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Also, the first few words of the Latin version of the reader's promise seen above (Do fidem me nullum librum vel) can be found on the linguist's hat in the 1996 mini-series Gulliver's Travels. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Gulliver Gullivers Travels (1726, amended 1735) is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the travellers tales literary sub-genre. ...

Collections include

• Carte Manuscripts

The Carte Manuscripts are archived historical papers collected by John Carte (1686-1754). ...

External links

• Bodleian Library (official website)
• Bodleian Group