The story of Bodleian Library

Oxford students call it 'Bodley' or simply 'the Bod'. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and with over 13 million printed items it is the second-largest library in Britain, after the British Library. It is also a legal deposit library, entitled to a copy of books published in the United Kingdom.

That is why it keeps growing. It works mainly as a reference library: in general, nothing may be taken out of the reading rooms, so scholars must come here to read. The library occupies a group of five buildings near Broad Street, the oldest of which is the 15th-century Duke Humfrey's Library.

Every Oxford college has its own library, some much older than the Bodleian, yet this is the heart of the university's reading life. Stand here and imagine four centuries of students hurrying in with their notes.