Plan your visit

Plan your visit

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The Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Camera and Weston Library are three of Oxford's most iconic libraries, located in the heart of the city.

Get exclusive, behind-the-scenes access on a guided library tour, or explore the historic city of Oxford on a walking tour with one of our expert guides.

Now on at the Weston Library is our fantastic free exhibition, Alphabets Alive!, which brings the magic of books and alphabets to life (until 21 January 2024). In Blackwell Hall, see our display The Dancing Master, which celebrates English country dancing and the role of the Dancing Master in the 17th and 18th centuries. While you're at the Weston, don't miss our café and shop

 Find out about Christmas at the Bodleian Libraries.

Tickets and opening hours

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For many of our tours, you can buy tickets in advance online.

We also sell a portion of tour tickets on the day. Please visit the information desk in the Weston Library to purchase these.

December

  • Thursday 14 December: The Divinity School will be closed from 11am.
  • Friday 15 December: The Divinity School will be closed from 2pm.
  • Friday 22 – Saturday 23 December: The Divinity School will be closed
  • 24, 25 and 26 December: The Bodleian Libraries will be closed. City of Oxford walking tours will be available on 24 and 26 December.

January

  • Monday 1 January: The Bodleian Libraries will be closed. City of Oxford walking tours will be available.
  • Wednesday 3 January: The 60-minute library tour at 10.30am will not be available.
  • Wednesday 10 January: The 60-minute library tour at 10.30am will not be available.
  • Tuesday 16 January: The Divinity School will be closed all day.
  • Friday 19 January: The Divinity School will be closed from 1pm.
  • Saturday 27 January: The Divinity School will be closed from 12pm.

February

  • Friday 2 February: The 60-minute library tour at 10.30am will not be available.
  • Wednesday 7 February: The 90-minute library tour at 9.15am will not be available.
  • Friday 9 February: The 60-minute library tour at 10:30am will not be available.
  • Saturday 10 February: The Divinity School will be closed from 3pm. There will be guided tours of Duke Humfrey's Library available to purchase onsite.
  • Saturday 24 February: The Divinity School will be closed all day. There will be guided tours of Duke Humfrey's Library only available to purchase onsite.

 

We ask the public to follow these rules when visiting the Bodleian Libraries exhibition galleries in the Weston Library. We aim to provide a safe environment for our visitors and make sure that our collections are preserved for the future.

  • Food and drink are not allowed in the galleries, including bottled water. The café is situated in Blackwell Hall for visitor refreshment.
  • Children are very welcome, but please make sure they are supervised at all times.
  • Pushchairs and buggies are welcome in the galleries. At very busy times we may need to limit the number of buggies in the gallery, and this will be at the discretion of the room attendant. Please note that very large double-buggies cannot be brought into the exhibition galleries, due to the narrow walkways between exhibits.
  • Assistance dogs are welcome in the galleries.
  • Large items such as rucksacks or wheeled cases may not be taken into the galleries, due to space limitations. This includes any item larger than aircraft carry-on luggage. Medium-sized backpacks or cases should not be worn on the back or wheeled, but may be carried. Very small bags and day-packs may be carried on the owner’s back. These rules help avoid damage to works on the walls or to the display cases. The room attendant will use his or her judgement on which bags may be admitted, and how they should be carried, to avoid any risk of damage to the galleries, collections, or other members of the public. For guidance, bags larger than approx. 50 x 40 x 25 cm will be excluded from the galleries. We are unfortunately not able to provide any storage for large bags which have been excluded. You must not leave bags unattended in Blackwell Hall.
  • Please do not bring wet umbrellas into the galleries. You can leave coats or umbrellas on the coat rack outside the galleries (please note that this is at the owner’s risk).
  • You are very welcome to take photographs, as long as this is for your personal, non-commercial use only. We do not allow the use of video cameras, flash and tripods (including selfie sticks).
  • You may bring pencils into the galleries. Pens and markers are not allowed.

Your visit

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