Duke of Humphrey’s Library, Bodleian, Oxford University, England

The Bodleian Library the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England is second in size only to the British Library. Known to Oxford scholars as “Bodley” or simply “the Bod”.

In 1444, it was decided to put a second storey on the Divinity School to accommodate a gift of books from Duke Humphrey of Gloucester.The new floor was finished in 1470.

This great collection, which now contains five hundred thousand books and forty thousand manuscripts, was added to the existing library of Duke Humphrey by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1602. There are extensive vaults beneath the building, and an annexe was recently opened on the other side of Broad Street. Since 1610, the Bodleian has enjoyed the right of receiving a copy of every book published in the kingdom.