Bodleian Library

Oxford University Libraries Service (OULS) comprises over 30 of the University of Oxford's central and faculty libraries: from the world-famous Bodleian Library, established 400 years ago, to the modern digital library ventures.

History

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.

Related Topics:
Oxford - England - 1602 - Thomas Bodley - Merton College - Library - Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester - Henry V of England

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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.

Related Topics:
1610 - Stationers' Company - John Selden

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In 1911 the Copyright Act continued the Stationers' agreement by making the Bodleian one of the five libraries in the United Kingdom where a copy of each book copyrighted must be deposited. See: Legal deposit.

Related Topics:
1911 - Copyright Act - United Kingdom - Legal deposit

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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 conects the Old and New Bodleians, and contains a pedestrian walkway, a mechanical book conveyor and a pneumatic Lamson tube system for book orders.

Related Topics:
Radcliffe Camera - 1913 - 1930s - Lamson tube

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