Oxford Literary Festival is back! 📚 We’re proud to be a cultural partner, with events across the Bodleian. Blackwell Hall at the Weston Library is this year’s festival hub, with extended opening hours throughout the festival. 📅 21–29 March For more information: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/olf

Aries in medieval manuscripts ♈🐏 Medieval artists showed Aries as a ram, the first sign of the zodiac, marking the start of the astrological year in spring. Shelfmarks: MS. Rawl. D. 1220 fol. 003v MS. Bodl. 266 fol. 108r MS. Add. A. 46 fol. 002r MS. Rawl. D. 939 fol. 2br

Happy Nowruz 🌸 In this scene, Bārbad the Bard sings from the tree to King Khusraw Parvīz II and Queen Shīrīn in the royal garden at Nawrūz. Explore on Digital Bodleian: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/79361790-4671-4c4f-983a-c40044671f56/surfaces/ae6a71fb-fe47-47d9-ba21-2160ab67dffa/

Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating Eid al-Fitr in the UK and around the world 🌙✨ Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. Or. 793 Take a look at the manuscript on Digital Bodleian: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/1d091ec9-33f8-42d9-a620-141dfc7b1816/surfaces/368d0391-3f85-43df-9b07-869638189692/

📣 In Bloom: How Plants Change Our World is now open. ★ ★ ★ ★ The Guardian "There's much to savour" The Telegraph 🏛️ Ashmolean Members go for free with no need to book. 🌿 Start planning your visit: www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/i...

Please note that the Weston Library will be closed until 2pm today due to an event. We apologise for any inconvenience. For more information on planning your visit: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-vi... Thursday 19 March, 11am

Same quad, opposite windows 🔁 📍Clarendon Quadrangle

To tie in with the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk ‘Pets & their People exhibition (on at the Weston Library until 27 September 2026) we have created a pop-up book display. Find the display around the corner from our issue desk. Find out more about the exhibition and our display at tinyurl.com/zyecxpk9

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!🇮🇪 According tradition, St Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. The symbol became linked with his teaching and remains central to modern celebrations. ☘️ Shelfmarks: MS. Tanner 17, fol. 031r MS. Douce 80, fol. 196r MS. Douce 256, fol. 013r

Need a break from studying? New College is only a 10 minute walk from the SSL and free to access with your University Card. Library staff enjoyed colourful springtime blooms on our monthly Nature Walk today. Photos by Sarah Rhodes.

Oscars looks 🤝 medieval manuscripts Some of these outfits felt suspiciously familiar, so we went digging in the collections… #MedievalMonday Shelfmarks: MS. Bodl. 265 fols. 58r, 60r; MS. Douce 364, fol. 61v; MS. Douce 195, fol. 003r

When you find out you're in the Bodleian's latest exhibition, Pets & their People 🐱 See if you can spot Lyra and other Oxford pets - exhibition now open in the Weston Library: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/pets-and-their-people 📸 | @univcollegeoxford.bsky.social

Feeling snoozy this #WorldSleepDay! 😴 Shelfmarks: MS. Douce 364, fol. 001r MS. Top. Glouc. d. 2, fol. 31r MS. E. D. Clarke 34, fol. 002r MS. Ashmole 399, fol. 34r

The story of The Wind in the Willows began as a series of letters to a little boy called 'Mouse'. 🐭 #TheWindInTheWillows [1/6]

NOW OPEN 🐾📚 Pets & Their People explores the bond between humans and their animals through stories, imagery & poetry from the Bodleian’s collections from early assistance dogs to a rare edition of Alice in Wonderland. Visit: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/pets-and-their-people

Radcliffe Square has now reopened and the Camera entrance can be used again. 2.30pm, 10 March 2026

Currently all entry and exit to the Radcliffe Camera is via the Old Library and Gladstone Link. We apologise for any inconvenience. 12noon, 10 March 2026

Director of the biopic 'Franz', Agnieszka Holland, visited the Bodleian to see the personal archive of the author including family photos and manuscripts. Agnieszka's visit was organised with Kafka’s Transformative Communities project. Find out more here: https://www.kafka-research.ox.ac.uk/home

Happy World Book Day! 📚 MS. Aust. D. inf. 2. 13, fol. 209v #WorldBookDay

In honour of #WorldBookDay and the #NationalYearOfReading, we asked our audience on Instagram to share their favourite book recommendations with us... Here are 40 of their favourite books - it's time to update the TBR list! 📚

The traditional Bodleian Oath, which every reader is required to read aloud on seeking admission to the Bodleian Libraries 📚 #WorldBookDay 📷 | @bodleian.ox.ac.uk#WorldBookDay

The perfect spot at the perfect time! Thank you for this fantastic picture of the Clarendon Building, Kshitij Mohan 👏 📸 | kshitijmohan.oxford (Instagram)

Today is #WorldWildlifeDay! Celebrating familiar wildlife from the archives, illustrated by Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826): 🐿️ Sciurus vulgaris (MS Sherard 238, Pl. 8) 🪶 Ardea purpurea (MS Sherard 240, Pl. 79) 🦔 Erinaceus europaeus (MS Sherard 238, Pl. 6)

Next month the RSL is pleased to host the 'Talk About Your Thesis' event where Post Grads from across a number of disciplines come together to present an introduction to their work. Support your peers presentations then network over a free pizza lunch go.glam.ox.ac.uk/thesis-talk

For #WorldComplimentDay, we’re turning to Chaucer for some Medieval praise - all quotations were curated by Dr Andrew Dunning. 📜 | MS Bodl. 686 (fol. 1r); MS Arch. Selden. B. 24 (fol. 192r); MS Rawl. D. 3 (fol. 1r); MS Douce 218 (fol. 16v). #MedievalMonday

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Shelfmarks: MS. Douce 211, fol. 252v MS. Ashmole 1432, fol. 014v MS. Douce 219, fol. 153r MS. Ashmole 1504, fol. 009v #StDavidsDay

The morning calm before the readers arrive. 📚 Duke Humfrey's Library, 8.30am

John le Carré: Tradecraft 🕵️‍♂️📚 An exhibition exploring the archive of John le Carré, from Oxford student to final drafts. 📍 Treasury, Weston Library 🎟️ Free, no ticket required Find out more: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/lecarre

24th February is the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. To mark this anniversary, we've created a book display featuring the work of two writers-in-residence, Oleksandr Mykhed and Olena Stiazhkina. These books can all be borrowed, so feel free to peruse🌻

‘Ukraine From Within’ is a week-long exhibition at the Social Science Library to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. The art books on display celebrate Ukraine’s creativity, diversity, & determination. Find out more at tinyurl.com/mr3hbmcf @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

In honour of #WorldThinkingDay yesterday, this #MedievalMonday we’re sharing alternatives to saying 'let me think about that' - all curated by Dr Andrew Dunning! 📖: Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto; Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. 🖼️: Auct. T.inf.2.7 (1v); Bodl. 264 (121v); Douce 366 (9v, 131r).

EVENT: Bodleian Zine Fair - Sat 28 Feb The Zine Fair returns for its fourth year, celebrating zine-making and self-publishing by Oxford students! This year’s theme is ‘The Writer’s Process’. 📍 Weston Library | 11:00–15:00 🎟️ Free, drop in Find out more: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/zine-fair

Love Your Pet Day 🐾 Medieval manuscripts are full of dogs, birds, rabbits and other companions. Sometimes helpful, often looking chaotic! Shelfmark: Bodl. 264, fols. 20v, 57v, 58r, 20v More pet content coming soon: Pets and Their People opens 11 March at the Weston Library.

Some views never get old! 📍 Radcliffe Camera

It's Pisces Season! ♓🐟 Medieval artists showed Pisces as two fish, a symbol inherited from mythology and used to mark the 12th zodiac sign. Shelfmarks: MS. Bodl. 266, fol. 109v MS. Rawl. D. 1220, fol. 005r MS. Rawl. C. 117, fol. 153r MS. Digby 46, fol. 079v MS. Lat. liturg. e. 1, fol. 3v

We’re delighted to welcome Bodley’s Librarian, @richove.bsky.social as the speaker for the Friends of the Bodleian Annual Lecture this May. Friends of the Bodleian enjoy free tickets, early booking, and access to exclusive events throughout the year: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/friends

Ramadan Mubarak 🌙 Wishing a peaceful month to our Muslim students, colleagues and Readers. Ramadan and pilgrimage in our collections: 🕌 Sultanahmet Mosque (Bodl. Or. 430, fol 57r) 📖 Sūrat al-Baqarah, Tīpū’s Qurʾān (Bodl. Or. 793, fols 24a–24b) 🧳 Pilgrims to Mecca (Bodl. Or. 430, fols 145r & 148r)

新年快乐，马年吉祥 - Happy Lunar New Year, wishing you an auspicious Year of the Horse! 🐴 2026 is the year of the horse, an important motif in Chinese mythology. Our featured image is from a 16th-century album of paintings by Qian Gu (Shelfmark: MS.Chin.c.16).

Turns out Medieval scribes also understood the struggle... maybe 😅 Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. 264 #MedievalMonday

On Tuesday, we held our annual welcome night for our DPhil students – always a highlight of the Bodleian calendar! 70 students braved the weather for a fun night of activities, including our special collections ‘show & tell’, tactile printing and the ever-popular smoothie bikes 👏

The wet weather produces some beautiful photos! Thank you to estherjohnsonphotography on Instagram for this wonderful shot of the Clarendon Building. 📸

The Space for Reading is back! 📚 Our co-produced pop-up library at the Weston Library now explores neurodiversity, with books chosen through public nominations and by local schools. Free and open to everyone. ✨

Incredible sunset from my office @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

#OnThisDay in 1355, Oxford erupted into what became known as the St Scholastica Day Riot. It started when two students complained about the quality of wine. Over the following days, tensions between townspeople and students exploded into one of the deadliest riots in Oxford's history. [1/3]

Oxford + relentless rain = medieval flood narratives ☔️ Noah’s Ark, from a 15th-century Book of Hours (c. 1440–1450). 📜 MS. Auct. D. inf. 2.11 #MedievalMonday

A Sunday puzzle for you! 🔎 In this image, there are the portraits of Queen Victoria and eight of her family members - can you spot them all? Results shared tomorrow... 👀 Shelfmark: Puzzle Pictures folder 2 (5)

In this thrilling bonus episode, Sophie talks to @richove.bsky.social about how the Oxford’s Bodleian came to own the manuscript of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. To see the manuscript, go to the Digital Bodleian: digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/53fd... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk #Frankenstein

Really enjoyed my conversation with Sophie Gee for @slobpodcast.bsky.social on the #Frankenstein MS @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

The Olympic Winter Games begin today! 🥇 To mark the occasion, we're looking back at how past host cities were mapped. Many Olympic maps were designed for visitors, combining practical information with practical information about the games. Here are some highlights from our collection ⬇️ [1/6]

An evening of books, buildings and big history ✨ Explore the origins of Oxford on this exclusive evening tour of the Bodleian Library and University Church of St Mary the Virgin. 📅 Thursday 19 February 🕔 5pm | 90–120 mins Book now: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tours/origins-university-oxford