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 are two fantastic exhibitions, part of our Season of Great Writers. Chaucer Here and Now presents Geoffrey Chaucer as you've never seen him before (until 28 April 2024). Write, Cut, Rewrite explores the creative importance of editing in literature, often referred to as ‘killing your darlings’ (until 5 January 2025). Entry to our exhibitions is free, and no ticket is required.

While you're at the Weston, don't miss our café and shop

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, as well as audio guides. Please visit the information desk in the Weston Library to purchase these.

Check our upcoming closures before you visit.

Extended opening hours at the Weston Library

The Weston Library is the festival hub for this year's Oxford Literary Festival. From Saturday 16 March – Sunday 24 March, Blackwell Hall, the café and our exhibitions will be open:

Weekdays and Saturdays: 9am – 6pm
Sundays: 9am – 4pm

 

March

  • Thursday 7 March: The Divinity School will be closed from 11am–3.30pm. 'Library Only' guided tours will be available during the closure.
  • Monday 11 March: There will be no 60-minute tour at 10.30am.
  • Thursday 14 March: Blackwell Hall will be closed until 1.30pm, including the Weston Library café and exhibitions. The Divinity School will be closed all day and we will only have 'Library Only' guided tours.
  • Friday 15 March: The Divinity School will be closed from 2.30pm.
  • Saturday 16 March: The Divinity School will be closed from 4pm.
  • Monday 18 March – Friday 20 March: The Divinity School will be closed. We will only have 'Library Only' guided tours.
  • Monday 25 March: The first 60-minute tour will be at 1pm.27th: The Divinity will be closed from 4pm.
  • Sunday 31 March: The Old Bodleian Library, Weston Library and Divinity School will be closed all day for Easter Sunday. Walking tours will be available through our website.

April

  • Monday 1 April: The Divinity School and Bodleian Library will be opening from 10am.
  • Wednesday 3 April: The Divinity School will be closed all day. Library-only guided tours will be available to buy from the ticket desk in the Weston Library.
  • Thursday 11 April: There will be no 60-minute tours until 1pm.
  • Friday 19 April: The Divinity School will be closed from 3pm. There will be Library only tours available from 3pm onwards.
  • Saturday 20 April: The Divinity School will be closed from 4pm.
  • Sunday 24 April: The Divinity School will be closed from 12.30pm. There will be Library only guided tours available to buy from the ticket desk in the Weston Library.
  • Wednesday 27 April: The Divinity School will be closed from 3.30pm.
  • Saturday 30 April: There will be no 60-minute tours after 10.30am.

May

  • Friday 3 May: The Divinity School will be closed all day. Library only guided tours will be available to buy from the ticket desk in the Weston Library.
  • Saturday 4 May: There will be no 60-minute tours on this day.
  • Friday 10 May: The Divinity School will open at 9.30am. There will be no 60-minute tour at 2pm.
  • Saturday 11 May: The Divinity School will be closed all day. Library only guided tours will be available to buy from the ticket desk in the Weston Library.
  • Sunday 12 May: The Divinity School will closed at 4pm.
  • Saturday 18 May: The Divinity School will be closed all day. Library only guided tours will be available to buy from the ticket desk in the Weston Library.
  • Sunday 19 May: There will be no 60-minute tours available.
  • Wednesday 22 May: There will be no 60-minute tours available until 1pm.
  • Friday 24 May: There will be no 60-minute tours after 10.30am.
  • Sunday 26 May: The Divinity School will be closed at 4pm.
  • Tuesday 28 May: The Divinity School will be closed from 2.45–4pm.

 

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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