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

Exploring the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, the new home of the Bodleian Humanities Library. ...featuring a very familiar face! #Tolkien

Now that series 2 of BBC's 'The Night Manager' has come to an end, you might want to explore more books by the author that inspired the original series. Take a look at our pop-up book display & visit @bodleian.ox.ac.uk John le Carré: Tradecraft exhibition (on until 6th April) tinyurl.com/23vub3nk

There's a week to go before the first of our new 'Focus & Finish' sessions at the RSL. Read more about the benefits of these librarian time-managed sessions (go.glam.ox.ac.uk/F&F) and book your place now. We'll help you get that specific task done & off the 'to do' list go.glam.ox.ac.uk/Focusdates

Step into February through medieval eyes: Candlemas illuminates the month with glowing candles, while wintry traditions like ice-skating come alive in this beautiful manuscript! ❄️🕯️ Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Douce 5 #MedievalMonday

Well-striped and well-read 🦓 Found in our archives: an illustration of a zebra in a C16 Greek Bible. Shelfmark: MS. Laud Gr. 86, 389 #ZebraDay

EXHIBITION ENDING: Our Treasured exhibition closes this Sunday - there's still time to explore some of the renowned items from Bodleian collections. Come and see for yourself and find out what you treasure most! Find out more: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/treasured

Today is #PuzzleDay! 🧩 We have been exploring the archives and spotted this 22-piece dissected puzzle, a forerunner of jigsaws! Produced c.1790, this puzzle is part of a series depicting varying childhood games. Shelfmark: Ballam Collection Dissected Puzzles (72)

A couple of photos our Library Trainee took on a recent visit to @bodleian.ox.ac.uk impressive Offsite Storage warehouse, which contains over 10 million items. Items can be ordered to a Bodleian Library via SOLO and are usually delivered within 24 hrs. Find out more at: tinyurl.com/9s2zhzdm

The Treasured exhibition comes to a close this week at the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk Weston library. Don't miss this last chance to explore the question of what makes a treasure - is it age, rarity, beauty or something else? Runs until February 1st

Today we rang the Bodley Bell in Duke Humfrey’s Library to mark the anniversary of Sir Thomas Bodley’s death in 1613 🔔 Nine rings for the man, and 67 for every year of his life. Rung by Ant Brewerton and Andrew Honey. #ThomasBodley #OnThisDay

FREE EVENT: Join @richove.bsky.social for an evening in conversation with Michael Moritz. Michael will discuss his new memoir, ‘Ausländer’, the story of his Jewish parents’ escape from Nazi Germany. 🗓️ 18 Feb, 5.15–7pm 📍 Weston Library https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/2026/feb/michael-moritz

John Rous, the second-ever Bodley’s Librarian, was a Fellow of @orieloxford.bsky.social, which is celebrating the 700th anniversary of its foundation this year! [1/5]

The traditional Bodleian Oath which every reader is required to read aloud on seeking admission to the Bodleian Libraries. 🫡

It's Penguin Appreciation day today, here's one of the earliest we can find on a map, from John Senex's 'South America corrected from the observations comunicated to the Royal Society’s of London & Paris', 1710. More on the map here blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2019/02... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

For the Observer I wrote about the forthcoming @bodleian.ox.ac.uk exhibition on our relationship with our pets. observer.co.uk/culture/art/...

Happy Penguin Day! 🐧 This is Aurora Australis - a book written, illustrated, printed and bound in Antarctica during the winter of 1908. [1/6]

Many thanks to the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for inviting Helen Davidge and myself to perform scenes from Jane Austen’s Emma today. We’ll be back in October, performing excerpts from Georgette Heyer!

Guess the country 👀 From the first printed atlas, and the first copper engraved maps. Of 500 copies printed 26 are known to be still in existence. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library Auct. K 1.17 Correct answer below 👇 #MedievalMonday

Installing a new display at the Weston Library takes time and precision. Dancing with Jane Austen is now open, featuring rare loans from Jane Austen’s House, including a manuscript music book copied in Jane Austen’s own hand. A glimpse behind the scenes, before the final case came together.

Duke Humfrey’s Library was voted the 4th most beautiful library in the world! 🌍 We are delighted to have received the trophy, recognising this honour from more than 200,000 book lovers worldwide. Read more: https://www.1000libraries.com/post/2025-top-10-most-beautiful-libraries-in-the-world

Looking up in the Weston Library. 🆙 (You always spot a new detail)

COMING SOON: Pets & their People explores why humans keep animals close, and what our evolving relationships with pets may reveal about ourselves. 🗓️ 11 March – 27 September 2026 📍 Weston Library 🎟️ Free admission Find out more: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/pets-and-their-people

A city steeped in storytelling for centuries! Join us on Sunday 24 January 1-3pm to explore the city of books on the Literary Oxford Tour! Book now: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tours/literary-oxford-walking-tour

Big Monday energy 😅 #MedievalMonday Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. 264

A map of the University and city from 1751, much of it still recognisable today! 🗺️ Shelmark: Bodleian Library, Gough Maps Oxfordshire 12

A rare first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), annotated by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel, has been jointly acquired by Christ Church, Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries! Read more: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/2026/jan/alice-acquisition

Experience the Bodleian like never before on this exclusive guided tour this winter! Gain after-hours access to the stunning Duke Humfrey’s Library after the students have left, allowing you to absorb the incredible atmosphere of the library. Book now: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tours

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” 📚 | Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

The start of the year saw a new series of The Night Manager debut on the BBC. Originally based on his 1993 novel, a reminder that the John le Carré : Tradecraft exhibition continues at the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk Weston Library until April 6th 2026 go.glam.ox.ac.uk/yPfczgbcy

Jumping into your 2026 reading challenge 📚 Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. 264 #MedievalMonday

Today is J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday! Born in 1892, Tolkien paved the way for modern fantasy literature and his creativity continues to inspire the minds of many to this day. ✨ 📸 | Tolkien, Bournemouth, July 1965 Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien photogr. 7, fol. 75r (c) Tolkien Trust, 2015

Welcoming the first chapter of 2026! 🗓️ These opening pages from the Bodleian’s collections mark the beginnings of works read and preserved across centuries: K. Grahame: MS. Eng. misc. e. 247 M. Seacole: MS. Eng. misc. e. 247 J. Austen: Honresfield 18/1 W. Shakespeare: Arch. G c.7

Aged 11, Princess Elizabeth made New Year’s gift for her stepmother, Queen Katherine Parr. 🎁 Bound in embroidered blue silk, it has been preserved at the Bodleian since 1729: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/a3a60c14-8a31-42b9-b8e7-a0986e276459/ Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Cherry 36

Watched Shōgun over Christmas? 📺 In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu became shōgun and issued a shuinjō after advice from navigator William Adams. The original document is now on display in Treasured. https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/70d882bc-a8d6-4741-adbb-8621ed0a73d6/ Shelfmark: MS. Jap. b.2

Looking up in the Radcliffe Camera. 🆙 (This view never gets old)

This is the @radcliffescilib.bsky.social's Worry Box. Students are invited to write down a worry and post it anonymously. The worries are then shredded and sent to the Botanic Gardens, where it is used as fertiliser. A simple way to acknowledge stress and transform it into something positive. 🪴

Christmas music, dressed for the season 🎄 These beautifully illustrated sheet-music covers show how Christmas music was shared (and sold) in print. 🎶 1. Mus. 400 b.28 (50) 2. Mus. 400 b.30 (36) 3. Mus. 400 b.50 (21) 4. Mus. 400 b.11 (13)

Wishing all our readers and visitors a very Merry Christmas 🎄 Thank you for all your support this year. We hope the festive season brings you rest, joy and plenty of good reading! ✍️ | Tim Kirtley

Christmas Eve at the Bodleian ✨ "The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting." 📚 | Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

What book has a character that helped you think differently about how minds work? Next up at the Weston Library’s Space for Reading: Neurodiversity We’re looking for books that explore diverse ways of thinking, learning and creating. Nominate a book: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY

Reindeer appear in more places than you might expect... including maps! These festive friends are watching mapmakers at work, decorating historic landscapes as well as popping up in modern tourist and children’s maps.🎄 Read more: https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2024/12/18/looks-like-reindeer/

247 years before Christmas, my true love gave to me… '60 walnuts 5 baskets of figs 20 pomegranates and a partridge' [a pear tree] An almost festive letter sent in 247 BC! Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Gr. class. c. 97 (P)

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!