Dr. Bulkeley Bandinel[20] was the last of the old type of librarian, the gentlemanly old-fashioned scholar, to whom the Library was a pleasant preserve to which like-minded students were moderately welcome, if they knew what they wanted and did not give too much trouble to the officers. He assiduously bought the best books, used his personal influence to induce the University to make purchases of entire libraries, and cultivated the probable, and even the possible, benefactor with success. But administration in the modern sense, and the organization of a staff to provide for the wants of the general reader who needed to be allured to literature, were secondary aims.
The Reverend Henry Octavius Coxe,[21] who became Bodley’s Librarian in 1860, had had experience in the British Museum and had been sent by the Government in 1857 to report on, and if possible acquire, valuable MSS. (chiefly Greek) in the monasteries of the Levant. He was a trained librarian, with just the right addition, that is to say special excellence in some one line, in this case palæography. His work was to develop the Library in modern ways, not by a cataclysm but with delicate appreciation of what the past had done in its own way.
Several events make the date 1860 a notable one, besides Mr. Coxe’s election. In that year the Radcliffe Trustees made the splendid offer of the loan of the Radcliffe Camera, the great domed building in the centre of Radcliffe Square, as a modern Reading Room and general augmentation of the Bodleian. It solved many difficulties in a most excellent way. It provided new storage room, it made it possible to have a properly fitted second Reading Room instead of inopportune alteration of “Duke Humphrey,” and it solved the problem of lengthening the hours during which students could use the library. Artificial lights were then impossible in the Old Reading Room. In 1860 also came the valuable collections which formed the literary part of the Ashmolean Museum, including the extensive collections of Anthony Wood, the Oxford antiquary, the historical and heraldic MSS. of Ashmole himself, with the Lister, Dugdale and Aubrey papers, all relating to English history and biography. And in 1860 also was definitely begun a new general Catalogue of Printed Books on a modern system, the Catalogue in fact which is still in use. This took nineteen years to form, at a cost of £14,500, occupying (when completed in 1878) about 720 large folio volumes, now expanded to 1200. These great changes engaged the chief attention of the staff, and the next considerable event is the transfer of all the older records of the Archdeaconry of Oxford in 1878. This acquisition has resulted eventually in the Bodleian becoming the great repository of material for the local history of the three “home counties” of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which form the Oxford diocese. In this year also was issued a Calendar of the Charters, Deeds and Rolls in the Library, chiefly the work of a self-educated student named William Henry Turner, formerly a chemist in the city. On July 8, 1881, Coxe died, having had twenty-one years to carry out his works of reform, and to introduce new principles of librarianship. In 1878 he was President of the first annual meeting of the new Library Association, held at Oxford, the transactions of which were published in the ensuing year and contain an interesting account of the Library.
To Mr. Coxe succeeded in 1882 a librarian of a very different type, brought up in the newest school and one of the founders of the Library Association. Into every department of the Bodleian Mr. E. W. B. Nicholson[22] threw great energy and a super-active mind. Of the large ground-floor rooms of the Quadrangle no fewer than four were handed over in 1882 and afforded a great opportunity for a comprehensive scheme of rearrangement. The staff, which in 1882 were twenty-four, were gradually raised to more than seventy, partly by the introduction of boys (or “junior assistants”) for the fetching, distribution and replacement of books and for the simpler processes in dealing with new accessions. A fresh code of Cataloguing Rules was drawn up, and improved from time to time. A large Select library (in addition to a Reference library) was instituted at the Camera. The number of closed week-days—which used to be twenty-six in the year—was much reduced. Accession lists were introduced. The Library was divided into ten sections, for each of which a Senior Assistant was made responsible. Photography, for the reproduction of MSS., was introduced in 1890. The Sheldonian Basement (1884), the Ashmolean Basement (1897) and the New Examination Schools Basement (1897) were obtained for the use of the Library. The number of readers increased, in response to all these arrangements for their convenience, and a large Upper Reading Room was obtained by annexing, in accordance with Sir Thomas Bodley’s original plan (see p. 21), part of the Picture Gallery (1907). The expenses of preparing and fitting up the room, and of shelving a large collection of periodicals in it for reference, were borne by the present Earl Brassey, who also provided funds for a Catalogue Revision Staff. But the greatest work undertaken in Mr. Nicholson’s term of office was the Underground Bookstore, a subterraneous cavern between the Bodleian Quadrangle and the Camera, beneath the grass, capable of holding a million books (see p. 39): the funds (£12000) were provided by the Oxford University Endowment Trustees. A notable feature of his time was the willingness of some Colleges and Institutions to deposit their MSS. on revocable loan in the Bodleian, to the great convenience of scholars. In this way the MSS. of University College, the Savile and Music School Libraries, the MSS. of Jesus College and those of the Clarendon Press came in 1882-86, followed by the Brasenose, Hertford, Lincoln and New College Collections. Among the greater accessions were the Shelley Collection (1893), and the 6330 Sanskrit MSS. presented by Sir Chandra Shum Shere, of Nepal (1909).
When Mr. Nicholson died, on March 17, 1912, the present writer[23] succeeded to his position. In 1913 a new Bodleian Statute (in English), based on the old Latin code but putting the Curators more clearly in their position of Governors of the Library, and otherwise designed to meet modern requirements, came into force. Two large and valuable donations were received in that year and in 1914, namely, 17,000 volumes of Chinese literature from Sir Edmund Backhouse, of Pekin, and Professor Ingram Bywater’s very choice library of about four thousand volumes on Aristotle and his commentators, and of Humanist scholars up to about 1650. Then the War came, and checked many of the activities of the Bodleian. Forty-one members of the Staff were called away on military service of one kind or another, including all of the Regular Staff who were of military age,[24] for the Library made no claim for exemption. The more valuable MSS. and printed books had to be put away in safes protected by sand-bags, and were thereby withdrawn from use. On three occasions an alarm of air-raids brought many of the staff to the quadrangle between midnight and 3 a.m. The readers diminished by about one-third. On the other hand, no department was closed down, nor any change made in the public service, the gaps were filled by the capable assistance of ladies of the Catalogue Revision Staff and men in some way disabled from military work, and in 1916 it was found possible to hold a Shakespeare Tercentenary Exhibition with success. The British Museum was unable to undertake this at the time, and the Bodleian with every right stepped into the gap. A full account of this and of the whole history of the Library during the war will be found in the Bodleian Quarterly Record, which was started in April, 1914.
In June, 1919, Dr. Cowley[25] succeeded to the chair of office, and may be expected to carry on the Library through a successful era of change and progress which the arrival of peace has made possible.
The Bodleian at the Present Time
The position of the Bodleian Library among the great libraries of the world has been stated on p. 13. A general description may now be given of its buildings, organization and facilities accorded to students, at the present time.
A. Buildings and Reading Rooms
The Buildings may be conveniently divided into three parts: 1. The older part (“Bodley”); 2. The modern part (the “Camera” and Underground Bookstore); 3. Certain outlying store rooms in University buildings.
The older part consists, as will be clear from a glance at the frontispiece, of an H-shaped building, and three sides of a Quadrangle fitted on to it. Readers who have followed the history outlined in preceding chapters will understand that the very cradle of the whole Library lies in the part marked on the plan “Old Reading Room.” That is Sir Thomas Bodley’s own first room, which had been superposed on the Divinity School in the latter part of the fifteenth century, finished in 1480, and taken over in a derelict condition by the Founder. No one can enter the room without a feeling of veneration for its antiquity and associations. The first extension (also in the Founder’s life-time) was the Arts End on the East, matched before the Civil War by the corresponding Selden End on the West. Since all three rooms were on the first-floor level, there is a space below, and a vaulted walk or ambulatory bears up the Arts End, while the Convocation House, built by the University, is under the Selden End. The contents of this triple room on the first floor are chiefly the printed books acquired before 1750, still divided according to the four Faculties—Theology, Medicine, Law and Arts. So firmly fixed are some of these that the present writer, having lost all trace in the General Catalogue of a book to be found under the word Parantinis in the 1605 Catalogue, in despair ordered it by its shelf mark in 1605 (8ᵒ L. 20 Th.), to see what would turn up, and it came. The fittings, ceiling and desks are hardly altered from what Sir Thomas Bodley ordained and saw. America as well as England may claim this heritage, for it presents the same appearance now as it presented years before the Pilgrim Fathers sailed in 1620.
The three sides of the School Quadrangle which adjoin the Arts End now contain the most valuable part of the Library. In the Gallery are the Upper Reading Room (with the General Catalogue and the selected periodicals) and the Picture Gallery (with a quarter of a mile of bibliography). On the first-floor on the South side are the chief manuscript collections; on the East side the Bywater, Douce and (north of the Tower) the Oriental MSS, and printed books; on the North side the Malone, Tanner, and Gough books, with all the Bibles. On the ground-floor are placed the Hope Collection of engraved portraits (about 300,000)—which is under separate trustees and is not really Bodleian property—the Music School (containing the printed and manuscript music and, at present, the Backhouse Chinese collection), the Meerman room (with a number of smaller sets of books), the Law Room, the Foreign Periodical Room and the Map Room.
The Camera Reading Room holds comparatively few books, not being a store-room, but the volumes kept in it are the most-used modern works to the number of about 27,000. But the Camera Basement, and the Underground Bookstore which adjoins it, hold the great bulk of the books of the last forty years. These are arranged by an elaborate system of subject division, the more important sections being in the Basement, while the less-used subjects (Minor Theology, Minor Prose and Verse, Scientific handbooks now superseded for ordinary use, and the like) are kept in the Underground Bookstore, with gigantic series such as the earlier editions of the Ordnance Survey, the Times from 1806, the London Gazette and some others. But certain entire sections, though modern books, are still retained in the older part of the Bodleian (“Bodley”) as being specially related to the studies pursued there: such are Bibliography, Palæography, British topography, Family history and Numismatics.
Lastly, some outlying buildings have been lent as storerooms. Half of the Sheldonian Theatre Basement keeps the Parliamentary Blue Books, and such newspapers and journals as the Bodleian takes in. The Basement of the Old Ashmolean holds the “Year-books” (so called from the accessions between 1824 and 1850 being arranged, not by subject but in order of acquisition) and in general the octavo books received between 1824 and 1883. Finally, beneath the New Examination Schools are preserved directories, some old magazines and all novels.
In 1915 the numbers of volumes in these three main divisions were found to be:—
| In “Bodley” | 422,000 |
| (Old Reading Room 61,000) | |
| In the “Camera” and Underground Store | 321,000 |
| In outlying buildings | 279,000 |
| Total | 1,022,000 |
B. Organization
The whole Library is subject ultimately to the authority of the Board of Curators, fifteen in number. Of these, eight are official (the Vice-Chancellor and two Proctors, and the five Regius Professors of Divinity, Civil Law, Medicine, Hebrew and Greek); and seven are chosen for ten years by Congregation from its resident members. The Curators meet at least twice a term, and hold an Annual Visitation of the Library on November 8, the anniversary of the opening of the Bodleian in 1602. The income and expenditure and even the regulations of the Library are under their control.
The three officers are the responsible officials, and any one of them can take complete charge of the Library. They are the Librarian and the two Sub-Librarians; by custom one of the latter is an Oriental scholar. At the age of sixty-five they retire, unless specially retained for a few additional years. They may not hold a cure of souls, nor undertake outside work incompatible with the due discharge of their office. But the two Sub-Librarians are subordinate to the Librarian in all matters concerning their duties and work.
The Senior Assistants are at present thirteen in number. Ten of them are in charge of the ten Sections of the Library, and are responsible for its proper condition. One is the Librarian’s Secretary, one the Financial Assistant, two are Superintendents of the Upper Reading Room, and of the Camera, and one is in charge of the Stores. Their maximum (pre-war) salary is £250. There is also a class of Minor Assistants, who have less responsibility and less difficult work.
The Janitor at “Bodley” is on Sir Thomas Bodley’s original foundation, and has charge of the Picture Gallery, and the admission of visitors. There is now also a Janitor at the Camera.
The Junior Assistants (aged 14 to 19) undertake the supply and replacement of books, and such work as the preparation of lists, and especially hand lists, showing what books are added to the shelves, with other duties varying according to their powers. The Curators give annual prizes at Christmas to this class, for conduct, industry and intelligence.
The Extra Staff is apparently a class peculiar to the Bodleian, instituted by Nicholson. They are to a large extent former Junior Assistants, retained for a time on the Staff under conditions which allow them to carry on their own studies (as, for instance, for a University Degree). It is found that their experience of the Library in the past makes their services of special value, while on the other hand they are allowed to choose a normal scheme of hours and take what holidays they please, being paid by the hour (from 6d. to 2s.). They deal with arrears, or miscellaneous work, according to their special powers or the library requirements. Some of the Extra Staff are usually specialists temporarily engaged, such as the members of the Catalogue Revision Staff. The entire normal staff consists of about seventy persons.
One of the customs of the Library now associated with the Annual Visitation is the Oratio Bodleiana, in Latin, delivered in the Congregation House on November 8 by a Master of Arts of Christ Church, on the set subject of Praise of Sir Thomas Bodley and of Hebrew Studies. It was founded in 1682 under the will of Dr. John Morris, Regius Professor of Hebrew, who died in 1648. The Orator is selected by the Dean of Christ Church, and delivers the Oration before the Curators of the Library. For the last fifty years the speeches have been preserved, and are of some value as contemporary annals.
C. Facilities for Readers
Anyone desirous of becoming a reader is required to bring a personal recommendation signed by some one in a responsible position. A printed form is supplied for the purpose. On admission he signs a statutory promise of good conduct in matters relating to the Library, and can choose a seat in any of the three reading-rooms. Preferably he will use the older books and manuscripts in the Old Reading Room, and modern books in the other two. The two parts of the Bodleian are only closed together on six weekdays in the year (Good Friday, Easter Eve, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the two following week days), and are otherwise open, with a few exceptions for cleaning purposes, from 9 a.m. to 3, 4 or 5 p.m., according to the season. The Camera is similarly open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Readers who use printed books have only to order them from the General Catalogue, or, if reference books, take them down from the shelves. For manuscripts there are three indexes which cover the whole ground: that of the Old Catalogue of 1697 (soon to be superseded by the other two); that of the Quarto Catalogues, combined; and that of the Summary Catalogue. The Oriental MSS. have in general their own indexes. Ordinary books can be reserved at the seat: manuscripts and valuable printed books are given up each day, and kept for re-issue. Free access to the shelves is not possible in so large a library, but arrangements are made to suit reasonable requirements: the Reference books are numerous, and the Subject Catalogue and lists of Accessions are provided. A Manual for Readers, giving further detail, can be obtained on application, without payment, as well as the Rules for Cataloguing and lists of the numerous collections, both manuscript and printed.
The Catalogues of Manuscripts are numerous, but consist chiefly (for western languages) of three parts: 1. The Old Catalogue of 1697, described on p. 27, which has its own index; 2. The Quarto Series of detailed Catalogues,[26] each with its index, but also indexed in one long alphabet of combined slips available for general use; 3. The Summary Catalogue filling up gaps in the other two classes, with a similar slip index. The whole ground is covered in more or less detail by these three.
All the Printed Books are in the General Catalogue of printed books, one copy of which is in Bodley, and one at the Camera. This is an Author Catalogue of the usual kind, anonymous books being entered under their title, and official books under the institution which issues them. A third copy of the Catalogue is arranged by subjects, but is at present kept in loose bundles of slips. The Cataloguing Rules are separately printed, as noted above.
D. Finance
The normal income is about £11,000 (Dividends, rents, etc. £2800: University allowances £5100; internal income £250; From Colleges £2000; Oxford University Endowment Fund, and various donors £850). The expenditure may be placed at £10,800 (Staff £6700; Establishment £1250; Purchases £2000; Binding £700; Miscellaneous £150). The large expenditure on the Staff compared with the purchases is due to the great number of books received under the Copyright Act. In 1841 a bequest of £36,000 was received under the Will of the Rev. Robert Mason, of Queen’s College. The resources of the Library are however obviously inadequate, although the University bears the cost of the upkeep of the fabric and permanent fittings. Details for 1882-1918 will be found summarized in the Bodleian Quarterly Record, No. 21, or in detail in the published Annual Reports. During the years 1908-1916, the Library has received more than £25,000 from the O. U. Endowment Fund, expended chiefly on the New Reading Room and Underground Book-store.
Manuscripts and printed books are not lent out except under a Special Decree of Convocation in each case, and was finally decided on May 31, 1887, in accordance with the principles of the Founder and the traditions both of the Bodleian and the British Museum (see pp. 10, 11, 20, 25).