Bodleian Humanities Library

Missed our tours in the rush and chaos of 0th week and first week? Fret not! You can learn all about the library any time you like with our handy welcome video! 👋 www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/hu...

🚨Calling all DPhil Students!🚨 Interested in learning about how the Bodleian can help support your work? Then come along to this free event to learn more about us, meet your subject librarians, and network with fellow students! ⏰ 6-8pm, Tuesday 17 November 2026 📍Blackwell Hall, Weston Library.

Is it raining outside? We can't quite tell... 🤔🌧️🌂 If you don't feel like carrying your wet coat or umbrella all around the library, feel free to put them on our coat & umbrella stands by the door!

Our #ResourceSpotlight for this week is... Prayer in the Ancient World! This resource focuses on prayer in Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean - spanning across major languages and religious traditions, with over 400 entries included up to late antiquity. solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/44...

First week got you thinking? This weeks #ResourceSpotlight is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy! It's not just a great resource for directed learning; why not try out that 'Random Entry' button? 💫 plato.stanford.edu/index.html

Everyone's settling into Michaelmas term, so if you haven't had a look at our #BlackHistoryMonth display yet, come along! Next to the well-being space on the 1st floor, we have regular themed displays; and you can borrow the books right off them if any interest you. Pop in and take a look! 📚

Ran out of time for a 0th week tour? Don't worry! Monday - Wednesday this week we'll be running two tours a day, at 10.30am and 2.30pm. Stop by and learn all about us! ✨📚

Vacation Loans are due back next week! Bill has brought in his stack from over the summer, and is feeling very pleased with himself😇 Bring your returns back by Tuesday 13th October - you can give them to us at the front desk, or put them in the drop box inside the library📚

This week's #ResourceSpotlight is Springer Nature eBooks EBA - Artificial Intelligence - 2025–2026 (Internet Studies)👩‍💻 This includes temporary access to a whole new ebook package until July 2027. Link: solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/44...

📣Calling all new students! We are running 30-minute drop-in library tours 10am-4:30pm on Wednesday-Friday this week. Come by and discover one of your new favourite study spaces! ✨ Welcome webinars will also be starting this week - details provided by your college. shorturl.at/eUq5C

When the Blackbird Sings will take you (literally!) from Blackbird Leys to the Schwarzman Centre, following Paulette, born in Jamaica, who crossed an ocean to expand her horizons. We're honoured to host a small part of this experience in our public area! 🐦‍⬛🚌🎭 shorturl.at/IdG9L #BlackHistoryMonth

It's our first birthday! 🎂🥳🎈 We're celebrating with a display looking back over our past year in photographs, reader feedback, and stats! We're also giving away Schwarzman Centre pens and notebooks - drop by the Help Desk to claim your freebies! 🖊️📒✨

Some of our most loved books were sent out of the library for re-binding, and have just made their way home. They're very proud of their new covers! 📚🥰🌈

Today is #HobbitDay because Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were both born on September 22nd. Normally we'd shire a hobbit pun or two but it might just feel like a tolkien gesture and we don't want to embarrass our elves. Anyway it's a good day to come and boromir #Tolkien books. 📚

Our #ResourceSpotlight for this week is... Klassiki! 🎞️ This is an on-demand video platform which focuses on cinema from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia! The selection spans from classic to contemporary cinema 🎬 Link: solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/44...

Want to learn more about what it's like to be a student at Oxford? Come to our undergraduate open day on Friday 18th September - tomorrow! The library will be running tours from 9.30am-1.30pm. Come to our desk in the Space for Reading - by the Schwarzman Centre north entrance - to grab a slot!

Thanks to everyone who came to visit us at Oxford Open Doors on Saturday! Over 50 of you made time for our library talk, with many more asking questions at our Space for Reading desk. This was our first Open Doors ever, since we're new - thanks for making it wonderful 📚💫

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is...Eighteenth Century Collections Online (English)! Part III of this collection is freshly acquired - why don't you start your week by checking it out? 📑 More info here: www.gale.com/academic/eig...

🚪Oxford Open Doors🗝️ Please join us on Saturday 12th September for our Oxford Open Doors events! While we're not usually open to the public, for one day only we will be running tours of the building for everyone to attend! See our Oxford Open Door page below for more details!

Our #ResourceSpotlight for this week is the Digital Archive of Medieval Music (DIAMM)! 🎼 With images and metadata for thousands of works, this database is the most comprehensive site for a complete list of polyphonic music manuscripts up to c.1600! Register for free usage here ➡️ www.diamm.ac.uk

Want to learn a bit more about us? 💡 Then you're in luck! This Saturday 12th September, we're offering hourly introductory talks about the Bodleian Humanities Library as part of Oxford Open Doors. Please see further details below, or follow this link: tinyurl.com/28puhem4 Hopefully see you soon!

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is... the Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library! 🌊📜💻 This online edition contains a Hebrew transcription and English translation of the Biblical and the Non-Biblical texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with high-resolution images! solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/44...

We need a new subject librarian for music! And you'd get the chance to do a whole host of other cool things too... 🎶🎻🎼

And we're back after the bank holiday! Hello again, dear readers! 👋

Heads up, all readers! ☀️🌻 We'll be closing for the Bank Holiday weekend - Saturday-Monday inclusive - and will reopen 9am Tuesday. Make sure to stop in and grab your weekend reading before 9pm today!

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is....Oxford University Open Podcasts: Philosophy! 🎤 With series covering over 2000 years of thought, from Plato's Euthydemus to Ethics in AI, there's something here for everyone. Deep thinkers, be sure to tune in! podcasts.ox.ac.uk/units/facult...

We've recently surpassed 400 followers - thank you everyone who's interested in our lovely new library! 📚💫 We've got more exciting things lined up for autumn, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see from us, let us know! 🍂

🖨️ Scan and Deliver Update! 💻 Did you know, we've increased the copyright limits for our Scan and Deliver service! You can now request up to 10% of a book (or one chapter, whichever's larger)! Please note that our limit of 100 pages (50 openings) does still apply. See below for more details:

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is... Oxford Bibliographies in Cinema and Media Studies! 📽️🎬🎞️ This collection provides short essays and detailed bibliographies on individual topics in cinema studies, including national cinemas and individual directors and films! doi.org/10.1093/9780...

Get hwæt, English students! Electronic Beowulf has a new edition! 📢🎉

It's going to be another hot one today! 🌡️ If you're interested, here are some live temperatures from the coolest rooms in the Humanities Library: 🔹Multimedia Room - 20.9° 🔹Graduate Reading Room (Floor 1) - 22.2° 🔹Rare Materials Teaching Room - 22.6° Why not come along to cool down! ❄️

"These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us." So said the Earl of Gloucester in King Lear. Perhaps he too could not get a pair of solar eclipse glasses in time... (P.S. Enjoy watching the eclipse safely this evening!)

Our #ResourceSpotlight for this week is Oxford Health Histories! 🩺 Dedicated to uncovering, documenting, and disseminating histories of health and medicine in Oxfordshire, the project website has a range of excellent articles and resources available. To access, click here: tinyurl.com/HMed123

Want to meet fellow DPhils and learn some cool plant facts? 🍃🌼 Book now for the DPhil visit to Harcourt Arboretum! Wednesday 26th August, 11am-12pm. Make your own way or travel with the @radcliffescilib.bsky.social library team - bookings here: ox-ac.libcal.com/calendar/rsl...

🎶August slipped away like a moment in time...🎶 Some major Swifties* here at the library - why not consider a philosophical or literary approach to the beloved 8th track of folklore? We've got a book for that.🎵 *(Jonathan Swift fans, we modestly propose that your time will come!)

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is... IEEE Xplore! This database of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) publications is a great resources for @oii.ox.ac.uk students (and intrigued others)! Try out their fun 'top searches' option. Link: ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/dynho... 💻

A friendly reminder, as we're due some heat tomorrow! 👇☀️😎

Did you know it's World Nature Conservation Day? Why not pop by and do some reading (or watching!) to learn something new about conservation efforts! 🌍🌱💚

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is... Digital Resources for Musicology! This is a central hub which links out to lots of open access projects which will be of interest to musicians and musicologists! Link: drm.ccarh.org 🎶

Feeling the heat? 🥵 Hot weather has been central to the plots of numerous literary works throughout history - here's just a few we've found: Can you think of any more?

A special (collections) morning! ✨📜 We had a great time hosting some English UNIQ students today and talking to them about all things @bodleian.ox.ac.uk! We even got to call up some of our wonderful special collections to showcase, including our lovely first edition Pride and Prejudice!

Our #ResourceSpotlight for this week is American Fiction, 1774-1920! 🗽 Newly accessible, this database contains more than 17,800 titles and is comprised of American prose fiction from the political beginnings of the United States through to WW1. For more info and access: tinyurl.com/bdp3jb3y

Exciting news, researchers... EThOS is now back online! Get finding those theses, folks! 🖥️

Our #ResourceSpotlight this week is... the journal Religious Studies! 🛐 This international journal explores issues in Philosophy of Religion, from both classical and contemporary discussions across traditions. It publishes 40+ open access articles a year! solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/44...

We won gold!🏅🌱 Recently, a cross-departmental team from the Schwarzman Centre won a gold award at Oxford University's Green Impact Awards! This recognises an effort to ensure that the environmental policies and practices in the building align with the sustainability of its Passivhaus construction!

🚨Closure reminder!🚨 From 9pm this evening until 2:30pm tomorrow (Friday 10th July), the Humanities Library and the wider Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities will be closed. We apologise for the inconvenience!

Our #ResourceSpotlight for this week is PhilPapers! 📑 PhilPapers is a comprehensive directory of online academic philosophy, including many full-text articles and books by academic philosophers. It is accessible via the 'key databases' section of our Philosophy LibGuide here: tinyurl.com/bz8jm296

Heads up! 🔔 The Humanities Library will be closed on Friday 10th July until 2:30pm (starting 9pm on Thursday 9th July); this is a building-wide closure. Other libraries will be available for you to use in the meantime! www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries

For #ResourceSpotlight this week, we're look at FIAF Index to Film Periodicals! 📽️ This is a bibliographic database which indexes 500,000 article citations from more than 345 periodicals from 1972 onwards 🎞️ You can browse the database here: solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/44...

Are you here for the University of Oxford Open Day? The Humanities Library will be running tours every 30 mins today and tomorrow, from 9:30am-4pm (excluding 12:30-1pm). Drop by and sign up to join in the fun! 🎟️