Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library, located in Oxford, is the second largest library in Britain. The current version built in the 1600’s still stands. The library houses over 12 million items within its collection. These items are not available for removal. The library itself owes Thomas Bodley its life, as it was him who took the dilapidated building under his wing. Thomas Bodley filled the library with vast amounts of differentiating literature. He even added books to the collection, placing more emphasis on the bound medium rather than scrolls which were much more popular.

Parts of the library remain just as Thomas Bodley once saw. The arches still stand, with the bookshelves full of his contributions. Among its vast collection are letters from Percy Bysshe Shelley, four copies of The Magna Carta, Shakespeare’s first folio, and a Gutenberg Bible. These priceless manuscripts show just how far the Bodleian reaches across history and the world.

What really made this tour worthwhile was our amazing tour guide, Naomi. To put it lightly, she was amazing. To elaborate, she was so familiar with the history of the library it was as if she was there when it all happened. She had no problem pulling us into Thomas Bodley's story and making it feel as if we were there along with her. Naomi took on his role and conversed with us as if we were his constituents and colleagues, making our experience a unique and interactive one.

To me, the Bodleian was truly a beautiful building. The symmetrical architecture made me quite happy. Even more enjoyable was the fact that it had hardly changed over the centuries. Knowing that Thomas Bodley saw almost the exact same thing I did when I walked in made me so happy. I feel as if I’m that much closer to history. Another thing I quite enjoyed was the declaration users agree to before using the library. Either declaring it orally, or signing a paper, users promise to not steal or harm any book and not to start any fires within the library.  The part about not smoking or starting any flames dates back to the earliest days of the library in which open flames were a hazard to the library. I find it amazing that it still holds significance to this day.

http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about-us/history