A Brief Survey of Oxford University Libraries

Oxford has an extremely rich and diverse library service provided by over one hundred libraries. There are major research libraries, libraries attached to the faculties, departments and other institutions of the University, and college libraries.

The largest library is the Bodleian Library with a stock of over 6.5 million items and a staff of over 400. It is a legal deposit library with extensive research collections and is mainly reference-only. As well as the central Bodleian Library site, the Bodleian includes several autonomous units: the Radcliffe Science Library, the Bodleian Law Library, the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House, and several libraries responsible for the Oriental collections (some of which do have lending facilities). It also administers the Philosophy Library, which is primarily a lending library for undergraduates.

The Bodleian, the Sackler Library and the Taylor Institution Library have a national and international role as research libraries. The Sackler is the major resource for art and archaeology, the Taylor Institution for modern European languages and literatures.

In the humanities and social sciences there are also faculty libraries with a primary responsibility to serve undergraduates, although some also have substantial research collections. The Social Science Library has a large research collection.

In the sciences many departmental libraries are small research collections mainly for the use of the staff and postgraduate students of the department, though a minority are much larger and serve undergraduate needs, e.g. Engineering and Plant Sciences. The Health Care Libraries serve post-graduate requirements in clinical medicine.

College libraries vary widely in the size and quantity of their stock but include well-organised collections of considerable value. Undergraduate college libraries have a responsibility to serve their own undergraduates in all disciplines, and access is generally restricted to college members. In addition to their undergraduate holdings, many contain diverse and important special collections; application should be made to the college librarian for access.

Some colleges with particular strengths are open more widely to members of the University.