The New Bodleian Library Conservation Plan - Central ...

The New Bodleian has been in place for nearly seventy years, almost the entirety ofliving memory, and has become a major element of people’s concept of the Bodleianas a whole. The significance of this will only increase with the improvements to thereading room spaces and public access to the building.3.2.2 The Significance of the Bodleian Complex as a Copyright Library andinternationally-renowned academic resourceThe Bodleian Library maintains its high status as a centre for academic researchbecause of its collection, which is one of the most significant of its kind, particularlythe special collections. The collection includes a wide variety of printed material,including printed books and ephemera, printed music, manuscripts, archives, andmaps. Various donors have made substantial contributions to the collectionthroughout the 500-plus year history and the status of the Bodleian as the oldestcopyright library in Britain has provided a substantial amount of material to date.According to a report outlining the future of the Collection, it is described as being a‘major component in the cultural memory of the work, and a key element in theresearch infrastructure of Oxford University, and underpins much of Oxford’s pastand present contributions to scholarship.’Notable features of the collection include: Approximately 7,000 incunabula (books printed before 1501).The John Johnson Collection of over one million items from the 18 th , 19 th , andearly 20 th Centuries.The Western Manuscripts Collection, which is the second largest in Britain withitems ranging in date from the 3 rd Century BC to the present day.A comprehensive map collection.Important individual items include:The Magna Carta, 1215. A copy of the charter between King John and his Barons,which importantly stated that the King was subject to the law, not above it.The Ashmole Bestiary, late 12 th or early 13 th Century. An English illuminatedmanuscript bestiary which contains a creation story and detailed allegoricaldescriptions of over 100 animals.The Romance of Alexander, 1338-44. An illustrated manuscript by Flemishilluminator Jehan de Grise depicting the legends of Alexander the Great.New Bodleian LibraryConservation Plan, April 201216