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Library space and physical services

Low and zero-contact services provided from Bodleian sites were heavily used by students and researchers during Hilary term. During the nine-week period 4 January-7 March 2021:

  • Scan and Deliver: over 345,000 pages were scanned for readers
  • Click and Collect: more than 8,000 physical books were loaned
  • Live chat: more than 1,500 live chat consultations took place

Following the University moved to BCP2 on April 12, all Bodleian sites have now opened their reading rooms (with the exception of the Knowledge Centre on Old Road Campus).

The weekly bookable study space capacity across the Bodleian system will be over 14,000 in Trinity term - an increase of over 4, 000 on the highest weekly capacity for Hilary Term 2021. 

For Trinity, a policy of sanctions to further control any abuse of the system by repeat ‘no-show’ offenders will be in place. Readers will be suspended from future bookings if they miss four bookings in a week or six in a fortnight. We are confident these measures combined will allow us to maximise Covid-secure reading room occupancy. 

For up-to-date information on services from the Bodleian Libraries, please see www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/service-updates.

Bodleian Health Care Libraries opening hours

Cairns Library (John Radcliffe Hospital)

  • Monday – Friday: 8am – 7pm for clinical students only (staffed Monday – Friday: 10am – 4pm)
  • The library is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for OUH staff

Knowledge Centre (Old Road Campus)

  • Currently closed

Girdlestone Memorial Library (Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre)

  • Monday – Friday: 9.30am – 5pm
  • The library is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for NHS and MSD staff based at the NOC

Horton Hospital Library

  • Monday – Friday: 9am – 12pm and 1pm – 5pm

Please see www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/book-a-library-time-slot for information on accessing libraries.

Online resources

New Elsevier collection

Elsevier’s Freedom+ collection package went live in Oxford at the start of March and has led to a very significant increase in ebook usage from ScienceDirect. There were 14,000 ebooks accessed this March compared to just 1,900 in March 2020 – with over 10,000 of these in coming from the new Elsevier content.

HathiTrust

Access to the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service was switched back on at Oxford in January providing access online to 1.5 million online textbooks normally available to students on our shelves. Access will continue until at least 21 June.