The libraries that students in History are most likely to use are the following:
In Oxford
Use SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online) to locate material, incl. electronic resources. available to historians in Oxford libraries.
Except where otherwise stated, access to these libraries may normally be obtained on presentation of a University or Bodleian Library card.
This lending library is designed primarily to serve undergraduates reading for the Honour School of Modern History and associated joint schools, as well as undergraduates in the Department of History of Art. Its collections cover late antiquities to c.1989, historiography & historical methods, history of art, and history of science.
Other Libraries
The Taylor Institution Library (Corner of St Giles and Beaumont Street) is the main Oxford library for subjects concerned with the literature and literary history of European countries and the Enlightenment.
Maison Française (Norham Road) houses a good collection of modern books and current periodicals on French literature, history, and culture. Books may be borrowed by registered users.
The Rothermere American Institute website also has information about the Vere Harmsworth Library which holds one of the finest collections on US history in the UK.
The Social Science Library (Manor Road) for economics, sociology, political science, urban history, and social work, international relations, refugee and international development, and post-1945 political, social and economic history.
Radcliffe Science Library (RSL, Parks Road) for collections on history of science, medicine, and historical geography.
The Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine (45-47 Banbury Road) has a useful reference collection in the history of medicine (including the biological sciences). Intending users should contact the Librarian.
The Library of the Museum of the History of Science (Old Ashmolean Building, Broad Street) has a fine collection of primary and secondary sources and is especially strong on the history of scientific instruments. Intending users should contact the Librarian.
English Faculty Library for collections on English literature and literary history.
Sackler Library (Beaumont Street, nr Ashmolean) holds extensive collections on History of Art.
Department of the History of Art (2nd Floor, Littlegate House, St Ebbes) has a collection of slides and photographs covering the history of Western art since the Middle Ages, and the Sackler Library holds a collection in iconography, northern medieval manuscripts and painting, the historical development of art theory and criticism, and particularly art and art criticism in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century France. Provision is made to expand these facilities in accordance with the special requirements of advanced students.
The Ashmolean Museum Library (Beaumont Street, in the Museum) for books on archaeology, ancient history, and fine art.
Pusey House (St Giles) for Church history.
St Gregory and St Macrina House (1 Canterbury Road) for Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox history and spirituality.
College Libraries Many of these are rich in both manuscripts and printed books, especially for the early modern period. There are catalogues for some of them in Duke Humfrey's Library. Access is granted on application to the College Librarian, generally through the student's supervisor. The Librarian of the individual college will, of course, give further details. For the modern period, the libraries of Nuffield and St Antony's are especially valuable. In addition to very rich general holdings, Nuffield has the subject index of the London Bibliography of Social Science, while St Antony's holds that dealing with area studies, especially Russian and Latin American.
Codrington Library (All Souls) has a very large collection which is especially useful to historians. Intending readers need a letter of introduction from their supervisors.
Lending Libraries
In addition to the History Faculty
Library, the student's own college library, the Taylorian, and the
Social Studies Library, the following provide facilities both for
borrowing books and for reference:
The Oxford Union Society (St Michael's Street) has a good library, open to members only (see below). It is fairly strong in literary works, and there are some useful runs of nineteenth-century periodicals and newspapers.
Oxford Central Public Library (Westgate) has little of historical relevance on its open shelves, but more can be ordered fairly quickly. There is, however, a special section for local history and genealogical research on its gallery floor.
For more information on all Oxford University libraries, please see Oxford University Library Information, SOLO, and Bodleian Libraries e-Resources.
The Useful Links section contains
links to web resources for historians.
Outside Oxford
- COPAC - (combining on-line catalogues of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, and Oxford Universities and of Trinity College Dublin)
- The British Library
- National Library of Scotland
- Cambridge University Library
- Library of Congress
- Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog (with access to major European library catalogues)
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