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Bodleian Libraries
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
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Amazing collections and breath-taking libraries. Facilitating research at the University of Oxford.

Readers: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Visitors: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
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bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Christmas music, dressed for the season 🎄

These beautifully illustrated sheet-music covers show how Christmas music was shared (and sold) in print. 🎶

1. Mus. 400 b.28 (50)
2. Mus. 400 b.30 (36)
3. Mus. 400 b.50 (21)
4. Mus. 400 b.11 (13)
Cover of the sheet music 'Around The Christmas Tree Quadrille' by H. Van Landeghem, featuring an illustration of a decorated Christmas tree surrounded by small figures, published in London by Simpson & Co. Cover of 'Christmas Time with Lancers to Old English Tunes by W.C. Levey', featuring an illustration of a person in a red outfit standing by a snowy gate within a decorative wreath that includes holly and a rural snowy landscape in the background. Vintage 'A Merry Christmas Polka by W. Smallwood' sheet music cover, featuring an illustration of a robin perched on a holly branch with red berries and green leaves, set against a neutral background. Antique sheet music cover titled 'The Christmas Tree or Merry Bells Polka' by C.A. Cramer, featuring an illustration of a decorated Christmas tree surrounded by flags and a winter scene at the bottom, published by Davidson's Musical Treasury at St. Peter's Hill, Doctors' Commons.
December 26, 2025 at 11:34 AM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Wishing all our readers and visitors a very Merry Christmas 🎄

Thank you for all your support this year. We hope the festive season brings you rest, joy and plenty of good reading!

✍️ | Tim Kirtley
Illustration of the Clarendoon Building, Oxford, in winter with snow covering the ground, featuring classical architecture and statues, with a person ice skating nearby. Watercolor illustration of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities building facade with a bench in the foreground and snowy ground with footprints. An illustration of Santa Claus on his sleigh flying over the Radcliffe Camera, led by reindeer, in a snowy scene. Watercolor illustration of Santa Claus sitting on a bench outside a building with classical columns, accompanied by a small reindeer. Santa is having a drink from a flask cup, and the rest of the flask is on the ground next to the bench.
December 25, 2025 at 4:51 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Christmas Eve at the Bodleian ✨

"The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting."

📚 | Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
A view through an arched doorway into the Bodleian Old Quad showinig a Christmas tree A decorated Christmas tree stands in front of the Bodleian Library's ornate facade with the statue of the Earl of Pembroke in situ A view of the ornate facade of the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, featuring intricate stone carvings and statues, partially obscured by a blurred tree in the foreground.
December 24, 2025 at 4:12 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
What book has a character that helped you think differently about how minds work?

Next up at the Weston Library’s Space for Reading: Neurodiversity

We’re looking for books that explore diverse ways of thinking, learning and creating.

Nominate a book: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY
Person reading a book in a library with others around, with text asking 'What book has a character that helped you think differently about how minds work?'
December 23, 2025 at 4:10 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Reindeer appear in more places than you might expect... including maps!

These festive friends are watching mapmakers at work, decorating historic landscapes as well as popping up in modern tourist and children’s maps.🎄

Read more: https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2024/12/18/looks-like-reindeer/
Historical map featuring labeled regions such as the Great River of New England, with illustrated animals like bears and beavers, and the River St. Lawrence. Antique map featuring a decorative cartouche with a depiction of five figures in traditional dress, including two seated on moose, accompanied by a banner reading 'Historia Canadensis occulta.' Tourists enjoy a reindeer sleigh ride through a snowy landscape in Finland, with a map showing major Finnish cities in the background. Illustration of a reindeer standing on a map, with the Arctic Ocean labeled above and an icon of mushrooms below.
December 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
247 years before Christmas, my true love gave to me…
'60 walnuts
5 baskets of figs
20 pomegranates
and a partridge' [a pear tree]

An almost festive letter sent in 247 BC!

Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Gr. class. c. 97 (P)
Image of an ancient fragmentary papyrus with text, displayed against a white background with a scale for measurement. The papyrus is in a deteriorated condition with some words visible.
December 22, 2025 at 9:08 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Today marks the #WinterSolstice ❄️

This illustrated page, ‘Erde und Sonne’, from a German atlas by Justus Perthes (c.1910), shows how Earth’s tilt and orbit create the solstices, equinoxes and seasons.

📜 | Bodleian Map Room Blog

More at: https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2024/03/19/spring/
Close-up of a circular diagram showing the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. A label marks the Winter Solstice, explaining that it occurs when the North Pole tilts furthest from the Sun, creating the shortest day and longest night. Diagram showing the Earth’s 23.5° axial tilt in relation to its orbit around the Sun. Overlaid text explains that this tilt causes the changing seasons, noting that without it there would be no summer or winter. Section of the orbit diagram focusing on the position of Earth on 21 March, marking the Spring Equinox. Overlaid text explains that day and night are equal at this point and that medieval scholars associated it with the first days of Creation. Section of the orbit diagram highlighting March 25, known as Lady Day. Overlaid text explains that it was once considered the first day of the year until 1751 and marks the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, nine months before Christmas.
December 21, 2025 at 5:44 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
CHRISTMAS OPENING TIMES: for all visitors and readers to the Bodleian Libraries 📚

If you’re unsure, check the Bodleian website on the day you plan to visit to avoid disappointment.

Visitors: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/christmas
Readers: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries
Informational poster detailing the holiday opening hours and special closure dates for the Bodleian Libraries. Includes dates for last delivery before Christmas, inter-library loans in January, and specific dates and times the services are affected in December and January. Background features a decorative architectural design. Promotional flyer titled 'Visitors' for a festive period schedule. It invites readers to enjoy a hot drink, see an art exhibition, or take a tour. Dates and times are listed for availability between December 22 and January 2, with closures on December 24-26. Background features an ornate, spiral architectural design.
December 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Have you spotted something special while walking through Oxford recently? 👀

We are delighted to have added some bookish cheer to the front of The Store hotel on Broad Street this festive season! 📖
A Christmas tree made from various books. The tree is decorated with Christmas lights, ornaments, and flanked by snowy artificial trees. A placard reading "Silence Please" hangs from the top shelf. A decorated window display at the Bodleian Library, featuring multiple Christmas trees adorned with lights and ornaments, visible from the street through a large glass window. A traditional lamppost is on the left side of the frame.
December 18, 2025 at 4:45 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Which book made you feel seen, understood, or connected to your experience? 📖

Our next Space for Reading theme at the Weston Library is Neurodiversity and we’d love your nominations.

Recommend a title: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY
Two individuals reading books at a table. Above them, it reads 'Which book made you feel seen, understood or connected to your experience?'
December 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
theul.bsky.social
We’re proud to be part of the Libraries Alliance - a new partnership working to strengthen libraries of all kinds. Our Head of Public Engagement, Dr Chris Burgess, recently joined other members of the Alliance to share progress with Libraries Minister Baroness Twycross at the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
A group of people sit around a long table at the Libraries Alliance meeting in Oxford.
December 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Jane Austen was born 250 years ago today ✨

Our new display, Dancing with Austen, explores how dance shaped her social world and drove the plots of her novels.

Now on display at the Weston Library.

#JaneAusten
Person viewing an exhibition related to Jane Austen, featuring displays of historical clothing and documents.
December 16, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
richove.bsky.social
Delighted to welcome the Libraries Minister, Baronness Fiona Twycross (DCMS) to visit us @bodleian.ox.ac.uk and meet members of the #LibrariesAlliance, bringing together the sector bodies & national libraries to advocate for libraries!
December 15, 2025 at 4:33 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Christmas party season is upon us... and these medieval faces feel way too relatable!

Seen any of these characters at your Christmas do? 👀

Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264

#MedievalMonday
Medieval manuscript illustration with text and detailed artwork featuring figures in various scenes, coupled with overlaid text 'Types of people at the office (medieval edition)'.
December 15, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
milleanick.bsky.social
Our next @bodleian.ox.ac.uk #Maps blog takes us to a wintry C18 #Norway with @debbietheduck.bsky.social. JB Homann's map of #Akershus also takes us underground. Explore detailed mine workings nearby modern #Oslo.
blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2025/12... @bcsmaps.bsky.social @imagomundi.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 4:10 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
'Joanna was a wonderful writer, one whose reputation will continue long into the future.'

The Bodleian Libraries join the rest of the literary world in sharing deep sadness at the news of Joanna Trollope’s death last week.

Read: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/2025/dec/joanna-trollope
Joaanna Trollope smiling to camera. She is wearing a blue and white polka dot blouse and is standing in front of a large bookshelf
December 15, 2025 at 2:29 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Yes, we have Mr Darcy. No, not that one. The stitched one.

Shop our Jane Austen range: https://bodleianshop.co.uk/collections/jane-austen-1
Ornamental felt doll depicting Mr Darcy, dressed in historical attire with a blue coat and black boots, holding a top hat. Book titled "Jane Austen in 41 Objects" by Kathryn Sutherland, featuring a striped teal and white cover with a circular portrait of Jane Austen. Packaging design for "The Unemployed Philosophers Guild" pins featuring an illustration of Jane Austen and three colorful books, with the tagline "Always have a point." A pouch featuring a portrait of Jane Austen with quotes from her novel "Pride and Prejudice" printed in various fonts on a teal background.
December 14, 2025 at 5:45 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Old Schools Quad in a festive glow ✨

📸 | madam_scientist (Instagram)
The statue of the Earl of Pembroke framed by an arched doorway and the green foliage of a Christmas tree A brightly lit Christmas tree in the foreground at night with the illuminated Bodleian Library in the background. The Tower of the Five Orders can be seen behind the tree. Illuminated window of the Duke Humfrey's Library viewed at night, framed by a lit Christmas tree in the foreground. A large Christmas tree decorated with lights stands in the courtyard of the Bodleian Library at during nighttime.
December 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Festive finds at the @bodssloxford.bsky.social! ☃️
A stack of books arranged from white to black to resemble a snowman. There is a blue and red scarf, two black eyes and orange triangle in the shape of a carrot placed on the books. A creative display of stacked books with a face and antlers made from book pages, resembling a reindeer, set against a backdrop of library shelves filled with more books. A creative Christmas tree made from stacked green books with red circles on the spine and a yellow star on top.
December 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
reubencollege.bsky.social
This month, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk  & @1854.photography unveiled Catalysts, a portrait series celebrating the University's leading innovators.

Among them is Prof Teresa Lambe OBE (Fellow, Cellular Life), who co-designed the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine and led its preclinical studies.

📸| Leia Morrison
Artistic portrait shot of Professor Teresa Lambe on Reuben's marble staircase. She has dark hair and a look of quiet determination. Her jewel-green shirt contrasts the light neutrals of the marble and walls.
December 11, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
radcliffescilib.bsky.social
In addition to the 'Dancing with Jane Austen' Display @bodleian.ox.ac.uk are hosting a talk - Jane Austen in 41 Objects - on the occasion of her 250th Birthday. Book to attend in person at the Weston Library or to be able to join online

go.glam.ox.ac.uk/JA250

📅16th December
⏰12.30-13.30
Promotional image for the talk. Shades of green background with the words Jane Austen in 41 Objects appearing in the top right of the frame. From the bottom left is a section of a decorated plate white with blue and black inking featuring a representation of Jane in its centre
December 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
stuartackland.bsky.social
Today is International Mountain Day. Here are covers for Snowdon (1,085 metres), for a Soviet map of the Teberda region of the Caucasus mountains (over 4000 m in places) and of the Zermatt region of Switzerland with the Matterhorn, 4,478 m, on the cover. Happy climbing everyone. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
December 11, 2025 at 9:37 AM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Experience the Bodleian like never before on this exclusive guided tour! ✨

🗓️ Selected dates in December 2025
📍 At the Bodleian Library
🎟️ £20 per person

Book now: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tours/after-hours-tour
Interior of the Radcliffe Camera at dusk. It features an ornate high ceiling and arched windows.
December 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
bodleian.ox.ac.uk
What book feels like your brain? 🧠

We’re preparing a new theme for the Weston Library’s Space for Reading: Neurodiversity.

Do you have a book that helps others understand different ways of thinking?

Share your recommendation here: https://forms.office.com/e/bRHBxTXBSY
Three people sat at a table smiling. Above them, it reads 'What book feels like your brain?'
December 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Bodleian Libraries
richove.bsky.social
Martin Parr and @bodleian.ox.ac.uk - a brief tribute from me .... www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/...
Martin Parr (1952–2025): A Tribute
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
December 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM