Bodleian Library

You’re now in the heart of the Bodleian library. A highlight of your visit to Oxford. You immediately feel the presence of the place and the strength of its past. It’s one of Europe’s oldest bookshops, and with over 13 million printed articles, it’s England’s second-largest library. It holds some of the rarest manuscripts in the world and 500 incunabula, which are books printed before 1501. It’s enough to thrill any old books lovers. But be warned: The Bod is no ordinary library. To register, you must provide proof that you are a researcher or an academic, submit a research project and take an oath not to “borrow”, not to say steal, or deface any work. This really is the kind of place where you can feel the presence of all those who have entered before you. Just imagine, all the students it has welcomed since 1602! We’re talking about 5 kings, 40 Nobel Prize winners and 25 British prime ministers! As well as writers Oscar Wilde, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. You may be wondering how such a library came into being. Well, it all began in 1488, when the Duke of Gloucester donated a collection of manuscripts to the Divinity School. The collection became Duke Humphrey’s library. A man named Thomas Bodley added to the collection until, in 1602, the Bodleian library had gathered a total of 2,000 books. The number of books grew exponentially when, a few years later, Bodley signed an agreement with the London printers’ guild to ensure that a copy of every book published in England was sent to the Bodley library. This agreement is known as Legal Deposit. In 1911, the Copyright Act renewed this 17th-century agreement, and the Bod officially became one of England’s 4 legal deposit libraries. In France, for example, it was François 1er who invented legal deposit in 1537. All this to say that the library continued to grow over the years. Today, its collections are spread across 9 libraries and several external storage sites. And to house such a treasure trove, the architecture had to be worthy of the name. The Old School quadrangle where you’re standing, as well as the splendid 5-order tower to the side of it, the library’s main entrance, were completed in the early 17th century. This complex is directly linked to several areas, some of which can be visited. These include the Proscholium, the original building, the Divinity School, The Duke Humfrey’s Library and Convocation House. You may have already seen the interior without knowing it, as this place filled with magic has inspired film-makers. The Divinity school is the Hogwarts infirmary in the first two Harry Potter movies, and the English series “A Discovery of Witches”, based on the trilogy by novelist Deborah Harkness, placing much of its plot in Duke Humphrey’s library. Don’t hesitate to enter and allow yourself to be carried away!