Happy New Year!!

We've been getting festive here at the Taylorian! 🎄

💻 Scan and Deliver Closes Today! 📖 A quick reminder that the Scan and Delivery request form closes at 5pm today (18th December!). Please get your requests in before then, and we will send them to you before we close on Tuesday 23rd December! You can start placing requests again from 5th January.

🎄Christmas Closure Period 🎅 We will close for the Christmas holidays at 5pm on Tuesday 23rd December, and will re-open at 9am on Friday 2nd January! Please note however, our last delivery from Bodleian Offsite Storage will be on Monday 22nd December. These will recommence on Friday 2nd January.

Personally we're big fans of our watercolour! (Although Santa will need to leave that sack in the locker room if it's larger than a standard backpack)

Doing a bit of early spring cleaning? We now have a sub fusc donation point! Feel free to drop off robes, mortar boards, bow ties and ribbons, so they can be washed and given a new home!

Returning from a training course, Osney.

Want to know more about how the fire ban effected the Old Bodleian? Well, with no heating until 1845 (or artificial lighting until 1929), they had a limited number of users - in 1831 there was an average of only 3–4 readers a day, and the Library only opened from 10am–3pm in Winter.

Fireplace fun fact: It is believed the first librarian (who lived in the library) used to sleep on the mantle piece of the Main Reading Room fireplace, as it was the only warm place in the library at night! This anecdote is referenced in:

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?

A special shoutout of course has to go to our own picture, which features Father Christmas having a hot drink in our archway! 🎅 If he has his reader card, he's welcome here any time! (As long as he puts his drink in a Keep Cup before he comes in...)

🎄Christmas has come to the Bodleian, and we've all been given wintery makeovers for the festive season! ☃️ Local artist Tim Kirtley has painted fantastic Christmas themed scenes featuring all of the libraries, which can all be seen on our 'Find a library' page:

Night-time walk.

That's a wrap on another Michaelmas term! Before you head home for the holidays, why not have a look at our festive display; "The Art and Archaeology of Eating Drinking and Being Merry"? We also have an accompanying blog post if you want more detail, just follow the link in our bio!

❄️Vac loans are here again!❄️ From today all loans from the CLASSICS LENDING LIBRARY ONLY will be due back on Tuesday 20th January. All other loans will have their standard loan period. Please check due dates before taking books home for the vacation.

This week's #TopTipThursTAY - vacation loans! Plan on reading much over Christmas vacation? Starting Monday, any loanable Taylor material and some eligible loanable offsite items will have a vacation loan applied to them- so you won't have to worry about returning things over the break.

Christmas vacation loans start today! Books and DVDs borrowed after Monday 1st December are due for return or renewal on Tuesday 20th January. We would be very grateful if you could return core reading books as soon as you can after returning to Oxford, so others can read them.

You can check the due date of your loaned items on SOLO to confirm if you can have it for the duration of the holiday. You can also check with the library staff if you're interested in taking out an item for the vacation. Only please remember to bring all your books back with you in January!

📢 Calling all English students with upcoming dissertations 📢 Unsure where to start with your research? Come along to our training sessions! When & where: 25th November (Digital Study Room) 28th November (Digital Study Room) To book, email [email protected]

Want to learn more about using reference managers? Check out the online iSkills workshops running this week! 💻 Wednesday 26th November 🕤09:30 - EndNote for referencing Thursday 27th November 🕤09:30 - Zotero for referencing 🕑14:00 - RefWorks for referencing www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshop...

Feeling stuck with your research? Have a complex question? Our Subject Librarians can help! We have specialist Subject Librarians for all of the languages and subjects represented in our collections. Find your Subject Librarian here: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/ta... #TopTipThursTAY

Do you want to know about our latest book accessions? Check our new books display at the main room and follow us on LibrayThing www.librarything.com/catalog/LACL...

"An eerie tale of an uncertain, unnamed young woman who marries a recent widower. She moves into his grand house in the English countryside, and is confronted by lingering sinister reminders of his recently deceased wife, Rebecca." – Jules, Graduate Trainee, reading ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier

"Partly a novel about the decline of the Irish 'big house', William Trevor switches between characters with astonishing skill, building a picture of profound resonance, humanity and compassion." - Frank Egerton, Head of Reader Services, reading ‘The Story of Lucy Gault’ by William Trevor.

“A novel of metafictional madness, written in the form of three dictionaries (one Christian sources, one Islamic, one Jewish). There's a reincarnation murder-mystery plot running throughout too.” – Gareth, Reader Services Supervisor, reading ‘The Dictionary of the Khazars’ by Milorad Pavic.

"I'm currently reading 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker, inspired by Halloween, and am also going back to my history student roots and reading 'Mantel Pieces' by Hilary Mantel. I alternate between reading fiction and non-fiction, but due to Halloween decided to do both at once!" – Megan, Library Assistant

“The true-ish story of Tarare, a 18th century French peasant with an endless appetite. Reads like a Hieronymus Bosch painting, with vivid descriptions of the smells, tastes and violence of the time. Not to be read when you're eating.” - Olly, Graduate Trainee, 'The Glutton' by A.K. Blakemore.

"A guide to how storytelling developed, from Viking sagas to Austen. It goes through how the style of storytelling has developed. He picks out people who were ahead of the common practice, and it's not always who you think." – David, Premises team, ‘A History of Story-Telling’ by Arthur Ransome.

“This is a schlocky, 1000 page brick of genre fiction. Space vampires try to restore their lost empire through excessive violence. I wouldn't have it any other way. 10/10 cosy autumn comfort read.” – Morgan, Library Assistant, reading ‘The Night Lords Omnibus’ by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

“A fun seasonal read about a bunch of odd characters gathering in preparation for a mysterious full moon ritual on Halloween. The narrator and protagonist is a watchdog who is involved in these preparations.” – Francesca, Library Assistant, ‘A Night in the Lonesome October’ by Roger Zelazny.

"A collection of short stories set in mid-century America during deep winter. It's all about how being in deep snow warps your reality. Things that begin in reality don't end that way." – Matt, Premises team, reading ‘In the Heart of the Heart of the Country’ by William H. Gass.

Want some autumnal book recommendations? Look no further than the books Taylorian staff are enjoying at the moment 🍂☔

Interested in studying Modern or Medieval languages at graduate level? Have your questions answered by faculty at our online open day this Wednesday🎓📝 Modern Languages Graduate Open Day, Wednesday 19 November, 5-6pm. Find out more and register below: www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/news/2025/11...

Calling all French language and literature enthusiasts!🥐📚 Visit @mfoxford.bsky.social this Friday for an exciting one-day conference: 'Languages and literatures of the Francophone world in libraries and archives' Full details here: mfo.web.ox.ac.uk/event/study-...

🏅Hungarian Nobel Prize Winner Display🏅 Our new display at the issue desk honours Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, who recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The display also features Imre Kertész, who won the same prize in 2002. Most books can be borrowed, just ask us at the desk!

The Madeline Barber fund was generously given to the university by 18th century and Voltaire scholar William Barber and his wife Madeline Barber, for the purchase of 18th century French books.

🎂 Celebrating 50 years of the Voltaire Room 🎂 To celebrate 50 years of our Voltaire Room, we are hosting a show-and-tell event to present some of our 18th century French books, which were acquired through the Barber fund. Please do come and join us! 📍Voltaire Room 📅 Friday 14th November ⏰2-3:15pm

The trial is currently running until 3rd December, and can be accessed via www.ov-vf.com , or the Databases A-Z Libguide, if you are a Bodleian card holder. Any feedback? Please send it to our French Subject Librarian, Nick Hearn www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/ta...

And that's how to find the databases we subscribe too! We hope this was a helpful #TopTipThursTAY. Please do ask us here, by email, or at our enquiry desks if there's anything else we can help with! Plus, let us know if there's anything you would like us to cover in the next #TopTipThursTAY

Want to access a database not listed in the Databases A-Z? Unfortunately that means we don't subscribe to it. You can suggest we get a subscription though, by pressing the blue 'Purchase Request' button on the top bar of SOLO, or contacting the relevant Subject Librarian

Want to know which databases the Bodleian subscribes to, and how you can access them? To celebrate our new trial of 'Oxford University Voltaire', for this weeks #TopTipThursTAY we will be showing you the easiest ways to access the databases we subscribe too!

LAC Library has a book display to celebrate the Green Libraries Week cilip.org.uk/page/GreenLi... All the books can be borrowed from the library after Friday 14th November when the display is over.

Grey days? Mid term blue? Come to study at our reading rooms with plenty of natural light. More than 20 study spaces available in a very cosy and warm environment.

Do you have any queries on Latin American collections? Do you need help with your research? Come to visit us in the Library office or contact us by email at [email protected]. More complicated queries will be passed to our subject consultant libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/latamhistory

4) the Voltaire Room ⚜️ ❌💧☕🥪🍜 No food or drink at all in this room, as it's where we have glass cases for our special collections displays, and precious 17th century books! If you would like to drink some water, you can go into the vestibule outside the room.

3) the Research Collection and Main Reading Room ✒️ ✅💧bottled water only Now on to our no-snacking or coffee-ing areas! Nice and simple, this rule is because of the many beautiful old books and spaces we have here.

2) the Teaching Collection and Graduate Reading Room📚 Here, you can have bottled water and also KeepCups or similar of hot beverages. ✅💧☕ yes to water, and secure flasks ❌🥪🍜 no food please, and no takeaway cups with insecure lids

1) the Common Room! ✅🥪🍜💧☕ This cosy space (recently revamped with new artwork!) is the one spot in the building that you can eat and drink to your heart's content. We also have a water fountain here! 🚰

This #TopTipsThursTAY, let's answer the question: can I eat/drink this in here? 🥪🍎 Generally, the answer is no - bottled water only is your best bet! If you're wondering why, see this wonderful poster via our friends at @bodartlib.bsky.social We do have a couple exceptions though...

Happy Halloween from us all at the Taylor Institution Library! 🎃 Why not pick up a Halloween Read from our display by the Enquiries Desk on the second floor 🦇🕷️🕸️