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Bodleian Library

The Bodleian has a continuous history since it was opened in 1602, since which date is has collected manuscripts and printed books.

The Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts holds the second largest collection in Britain, with items ranging in date from papyri of the 3rd century B.C. to correspondence and papers of the present. The collecting policy of the Department is to build on existing areas of strength. The chief growth area is modern personal papers of public figures.

The Department has made over 1000 descriptions of collections available on the Archives Hub. These include English historical collections, particularly of the 17th century; local history collections of antiquarian, topographical and estate records; deeds and rolls; archives of societies and organizations, including the Conservative Party; and papers of politicians and other public figures, writers, scientists, scholars and churchmen.

The Library has acquired Oriental printed books and manuscripts since its refoundation in 1598 by Sir Thomas Bodley, himself a Hebraist. The Department of Oriental Collections' current acquisitions largely reflect the teaching and research undertaken in the University in Hebrew, Islamic, South Asian and Far Eastern studies, and important collections are also maintained in areas such as Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Tibet. The collection comprises named manuscript collections; manuscripts arranged in language sequences; and a few archival collections. Descriptions of all the manuscript and archival collections of the Department, about 80 in all, have been made available on the Hub.

Named manuscript collections: One of the largest named collections held by the Department is that presented by Maharajah Sir Chandra Shum Shere in 1909; it is one of the single largest assemblages of Sanskrit manuscripts outside the Indian sub-continent. Several of the collectors represented in the named manuscript collections also obtained manuscripts in Western languages (e.g. Archbishop Laud, Francis Douce); the western elements of their collections are adminstered and described separately by the Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts, but descriptions of both the Oriental and Western material may be accessed via the Hub.

Manuscripts in language sequences: There are some 40 language-based sequences for manuscripts, the largest of these being the Arabic, Chinese, Coptic, Hebrew, and Sanskrit sequences.

Archives: The archival collections of the Department are fewer; they include the archives of Tibetologists Michael Aris and Hugh Richardson.

Special feature: Viceroys & Chief Secretaries

Address: Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Broad Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3BG

Email: western.manuscripts@bodley.ox.ac.uk Web: www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss

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