Today marks the #WinterSolstice ❄️ This illustrated page, ‘Erde und Sonne’, from a German atlas by Justus Perthes (c.1910), shows how Earth’s tilt and orbit create the solstices, equinoxes and seasons. 📜 | Bodleian Map Room Blog More at: https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2024/03/19/spring/

CHRISTMAS OPENING TIMES: for all visitors and readers to the Bodleian Libraries 📚 If you’re unsure, check the Bodleian website on the day you plan to visit to avoid disappointment. Visitors: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/christmas Readers: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries

Have you spotted something special while walking through Oxford recently? 👀 We are delighted to have added some bookish cheer to the front of The Store hotel on Broad Street this festive season! 📖

Which book made you feel seen, understood, or connected to your experience? 📖 Our next Space for Reading theme at the Weston Library is Neurodiversity and we’d love your nominations. Recommend a title: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY

We’re proud to be part of the Libraries Alliance - a new partnership working to strengthen libraries of all kinds. Our Head of Public Engagement, Dr Chris Burgess, recently joined other members of the Alliance to share progress with Libraries Minister Baroness Twycross at the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Jane Austen was born 250 years ago today ✨ Our new display, Dancing with Austen, explores how dance shaped her social world and drove the plots of her novels. Now on display at the Weston Library. #JaneAusten

Delighted to welcome the Libraries Minister, Baronness Fiona Twycross (DCMS) to visit us @bodleian.ox.ac.uk and meet members of the #LibrariesAlliance, bringing together the sector bodies & national libraries to advocate for libraries!

Christmas party season is upon us... and these medieval faces feel way too relatable! Seen any of these characters at your Christmas do? 👀 Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264 #MedievalMonday

Our next @bodleian.ox.ac.uk #Maps blog takes us to a wintry C18 #Norway with @debbietheduck.bsky.social. JB Homann's map of #Akershus also takes us underground. Explore detailed mine workings nearby modern #Oslo. blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2025/12... @bcsmaps.bsky.social @imagomundi.bsky.social

'Joanna was a wonderful writer, one whose reputation will continue long into the future.' The Bodleian Libraries join the rest of the literary world in sharing deep sadness at the news of Joanna Trollope’s death last week. Read: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/2025/dec/joanna-trollope

Yes, we have Mr Darcy. No, not that one. The stitched one. Shop our Jane Austen range: https://bodleianshop.co.uk/collections/jane-austen-1

Old Schools Quad in a festive glow ✨ 📸 | madam_scientist (Instagram)

Festive finds at the @bodssloxford.bsky.social! ☃️

This month, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk  & @1854.photography unveiled Catalysts, a portrait series celebrating the University's leading innovators. Among them is Prof Teresa Lambe OBE (Fellow, Cellular Life), who co-designed the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine and led its preclinical studies. 📸| Leia Morrison

In addition to the 'Dancing with Jane Austen' Display @bodleian.ox.ac.uk are hosting a talk - Jane Austen in 41 Objects - on the occasion of her 250th Birthday. Book to attend in person at the Weston Library or to be able to join online go.glam.ox.ac.uk/JA250 📅16th December ⏰12.30-13.30

Today is International Mountain Day. Here are covers for Snowdon (1,085 metres), for a Soviet map of the Teberda region of the Caucasus mountains (over 4000 m in places) and of the Zermatt region of Switzerland with the Matterhorn, 4,478 m, on the cover. Happy climbing everyone. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Experience the Bodleian like never before on this exclusive guided tour! ✨ 🗓️ Selected dates in December 2025 📍 At the Bodleian Library 🎟️ £20 per person Book now: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tours/after-hours-tour

What book feels like your brain? 🧠 We’re preparing a new theme for the Weston Library’s Space for Reading: Neurodiversity. Do you have a book that helps others understand different ways of thinking? Share your recommendation here: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY

Martin Parr and @bodleian.ox.ac.uk - a brief tribute from me .... www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/...

Have you ever noticed the large fireplace in our Main Reading Room?🔥 In these cold winter days, a fire would be a very cosy way to warm up such a big (and slightly chilly!) room. So why do we never light it?

'His commitment to photography was peerless, and the world of photography will never be the same again.' @richove.bsky.social reflects on the life and legacy and remembers his dear friend, Martin Parr. To read the full tribute: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/2025/dec/martin-parr

St Nicholas, shown here resurrecting three boys from a pickling tub, became known for genorosity and protecting children. Such stories shaped Europe’s Sinterklaas, which evolved into Santa Claus and eventually, Father Christmas. 🎅 MS. Douce 51 fol. 069v #MedievalMonday

The Bodleian made Christmas gifts for people who’d happily live in a library. Take a look: https://bodleianshop.co.uk/collections/a-library-christmas

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Moleskine Shopping Event 🗓️ Thu 11 De, 1:00-5:00pm 📍Old Bodleian Quad Shop Join us for a free hot-foil personalisation by a professional calligrapher on Moleskine products purchased in our shop. https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/2025/dec/shopping-event-with-moleskine

For Alys Tomlinson, portraiture has always been a slow, traditional and deliberate exchange that resists spectacle. Her contribution to a collaboration with the @bjp1854 seeking to diversify the Bodleian’s historic portrait collection, reflects this ethos. 1/4

We are delighted to share the second artist from the @1854.photography commission, Francis Augusto, who brings his observational approach to create portraits exploring themes of representation and the spaces that spark change. The sitters: Alexis McGivern & Clarissa Salmon Prof Steve Strand 1/4

In 1647, self-taught astronomer and brewer Johannes Hevelius created the first detailed map of the Moon 🌕 Nearly four centuries later, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk have brought his Selenographia into the digital age – letting anyone explore the world’s first lunar atlas. Learn more ⬇️

Next Tuesday we host a relaxing Crafty Connections evening for DPhils. Network with your colleagues, enjoy hot drinks and snacks whilst you try your hand at some festive themed crafting. Book now as spaces are limited 📅9th December ⏰17.30 📍Wellbeing Room 🔗 buff.ly/QPAKI5I

Is there a book or a poem that helped you explore what neurodiversity means? The Weston Library’s Space for Reading is changing themes - next up: Neurodiversity. 📚 Submit your (anonymous) suggestions here: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY

The Bodleian Libraries and The British Journal of Photography (BJP) have today unveiled Catalysts, a new portrait series celebrating Oxford University's leading innovators whose work is reshaping health, society and the environment worldwide. 1/4

The 1178 Ranshofen Gospels give big Monday energy: three evangelists turn up to work missing key tools: no pen, wrong ink, no parchment.... only St John is prepared for the day. A medieval reminder that some Mondays haven’t changed! MS. Canon. Bibl. Lat. 60 #MedievalMonday

St Andrew appears all over our collections. Artists across centuries reimagined the saint who became Scotland’s patron: MS. Gough drawings-Gaignières 16, fol. 60r MS. Douce 311, fol. 115v MS. Canon. Liturg. 388, fol 267r MS. Laud Misc. 165, fol 121r #StAndrewsDay

Born #OTD in 1898: C. S. Lewis, creator of Narnia! This hand-drawn map is his own sketch, later redrafted by Pauline Baynes for Prince Caspian. Spot Aslan’s How, Cair Paravel and Lantern Waste on the map. 🦁 Shelfmark: MS. Eng. lett. c. 220/1, fol. 160

Oxford, but... Upside Down 🔃 #RadcliffeCamera

Our next @bodleian.ox.ac.uk #maps blog by @stuartackland.bsky.social features the "false" map of #Oxford from 1644. Look at this and be prepared to be confused! blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/. When is north not north? And who was Anthony Wood? @bcsmaps.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @bbcoxford.bsky.social

What book would you recommend to someone learning about neurodiversity for the first time? We’re updating our Space for Reading at the Weston Library and this time, the theme is Neurodiversity. Share your book recommendations here: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY

I can’t say enough how fantastic the programme staff are at the Visiting Scholars Programme @bodleian.ox.ac.uk. If you don’t know about this wonderful programme, read more here: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh... 🚨 Deadline is this Friday 30 Nov, still time to apply.

Which one are you feeling like on this Monday morning? Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264, found on Digital Bodleian! Explore the manuscript and what other characters it has to offer: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ae9f6cca-ae5c-4149-8fe4-95e6eca1f73c/ #MedievalMonday

EVENT: Christmas Shopping with Moleskine 🗓️ 28 November, 2:30 - 7:30PM Join us at the Weston Library for a free hot-foil personalisation by a professional calligrapher to any Moleskine product purchased in our shop. More info: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/2025/nov/christmas-shopping-event

Paul Helbronner was a French cartographer at the turn of the C19th and C20th century who specialized in maps of the Alps. He made a beautiful & long (over 620cm!) panoramic map of the view from Mont Blanc in 1921 and included his climb to the top, with his footprints in the snow @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

A fruity find! 🍎 This practical guide to fruit varieties, now known as The Tradescant’s Orchard, was made for gardeners, not as fine art. Later bound by Elias Ashmole, it joined Oxford with his collections and moved to the Bodleian in 1860. Shelfmark: MS. Ashmole 1461

One place, two creative visions. Clarendon Quad brought to life through pen and photo. Photograph by spiralling_oxford (Instagram) Illustration by t.e.sheperd.art (Instagram)

Give the gift of discovery this Christmas! A Friends of the Bodleian membership unlocks exclusive events and supports the preservation of the Bodleian Libraries’ treasured collections. https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/friends-of-the-bodleian?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=friends

A golden hour glow in Clarendon Quad after the rain earlier this week. 🌧️

Amid species and habitat decline, the Ashmole Bestiary c.1210 remains profoundly relevant, underscoring our duty to study and protect the natural world. Insights courtesy of Dr Andrew Dunning. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Ashmole 1511

Sometimes even @bodleian.ox.ac.uk does not have the item that you need. In those circumstances, you can place a request for an Inter-library loan using SOLO and try to source what you are looking for from libraries elsewhere. Here's a handy 'how to' guide go.glam.ox.ac.uk/dKyFhJ7Oh

VISITING FELLOWSHIPS: Applications are now open for 2026-27! The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025. For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships

Today, we pause to remember those who lost their lives in conflict. At 11AM, a two-minute silence will be held to honour them. #LestWeForget #RemembranceDay

Even the lawns at the Radcliffe Camera have stories to tell. 👏 This new pattern, designed by University Parks team leader James, transforms one of Oxford’s most iconic spaces into a work of art. 📸 | @jimigk13 (instagram)

The most incredible library in the world, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk opened to OTD 1602, through the energy, money & commitment of Sir Thomas Bodley. It began with 5k books, & now more than 22m, with 2m+reader visits a year, & multi-million online users across the globe. Privilged to be its 25th librarian!