Bodleian Library

“Duke Humfrey's Library at Oxford has been in continuous use since 1488 — and the legal deposit agreement negotiated in 1610 means every book published in the United Kingdom still arrives here, as it has for over four hundred years.”

About Bodleian Library

Refounded by Thomas Bodley in 1602, the library secured its legal deposit right in 1610. The Radcliffe Camera, built 1749 and incorporated in 1861, is now a reading room connected by underground tunnel. Duke Humfrey's Library served as the Hogwarts library set in the Harry Potter films.

Overview The Bodleian Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford and one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe, holding over thirteen million items across a complex of buildings in the city center. The oldest part — Duke Humfrey's Library on the upper floor of the medieval Schools Quadrangle — has been in continuous use as a library since 1488, making it one of the longest-functioning libraries in the world. The Bodleian is a legal deposit library, entitled to receive a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom.

The Story Behind It The library was refounded in 1602 by Thomas Bodley, a diplomat who returned from Queen Elizabeth's court and devoted the rest of his life to restoring the university's book collection, which had been dispersed during the Reformation. Bodley negotiated the legal deposit agreement with the Stationers' Company in 1610, establishing the principle that publishers must supply a copy of every book to the library — a right that has expanded and persisted through successive copyright acts to the present day. The Radcliffe Camera, the circular baroque building in Radcliffe Square adjacent to the main complex, was built in 1749 and became part of the Bodleian in 1861; it is now used as a reading room, its lower level connected to the main library by underground tunnel.

What You'll Experience Duke Humfrey's Library is the most visited space — the medieval book room with its painted ceiling and chained book remnants has appeared in numerous films and television productions, most recognizably as the Hogwarts library in the Harry Potter films. Tours of the historic buildings are the standard visitor route; access to Duke Humfrey's is only permitted on a guided tour, not independently. The Weston Library, the Bodleian's newer exhibition building on Broad Street, displays changing exhibitions from the collection that are free to enter — manuscripts, early printed books, and items ranging from a Gutenberg Bible to Shakespeare's First Folio.

Getting There The Bodleian's main entrance and tour departure point are in the Old Schools Quadrangle in central Oxford. Oxford is about an hour from London Paddington by rail. The Weston Library exhibition space on Broad Street is open to all visitors without booking.

The Experience

Join a guided tour to enter Duke Humfrey's medieval book room with its painted ceiling, visit the Weston Library's free exhibitions displaying manuscripts and early printed books including Shakespeare's First Folio, and walk Radcliffe Square to view the circular Camera from the outside.

Why It Matters

One of Europe's oldest and largest research libraries, in continuous use since 1488 — a legal deposit library that receives every UK publication and holds thirteen million items from Gutenberg Bibles to contemporary fiction.

Why Visit

Duke Humfrey's Library is one of the most beautiful medieval rooms in England — the painted ceiling, the tiered galleries, the smell of old books — and access requires a guided tour that keeps numbers manageable enough to actually appreciate the space.