Welcome to Litsy!

The University of Oxford�s Bodleian Library has become one of the most celebrated libraries in the world, boasting a collection of nearly twelve million books and manuscripts and a fascinating history that spans more than four hundred years. A Brief History of the Bodleian Library takes readers through the Library�s history, from its founding in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley to the present day. Along the way, the book traces the development of the Library�s incomparable collection, complete with details that reveal the eccentricities of those who have helped shape it, including Bodley himself, who conceived of the Library as a �republic of the learned,� and King George VI, who inadvertently delayed the opening of the New Bodleian in 1946 when he broke the key in the lock. Covering the major moments in the Library�s history and with a great many fun facts�How did the Library come to own not one of Shakespeare�s First Folios but two?�the book also apprises readers of its present concerns, including the building of individual subject libraries across Oxford, the use of underground passages, and the perennial search for more space.