The New Bodleian Library Conservation Plan - Central ...

The most complete scheme is in the main Reading Room (now the PPE ReadingRoom) which retains its sapele mahogany bookcases, reading desks, light fittings,clocks, issue desk (which has been modified, but will be returned to its original formduring the ongoing alterations), and a splendid inlaid wood ceiling. The adjacentIndex Gallery (now the PPE Gallery) also retains many original features, such asbronze doors and the Taynton stone cornice. These two rooms were designed asprominent public rooms and are both of high significance. Room 206 (Rare Booksand Printed Ephemera) is another important space owing to the retention of theoriginal cork floor (which if possible will be retained during ongoing alterations),glass light fittings, bookcases, and conference table. Other important rooms includethe main entrance hall, the King George entrance, stairs 1 and 4, the Music ReadingRoom, and the Oriental Reading Room. For fuller details of these principal areas, andtheir condition following the ongoing alterations, see Section 4.3.A perusal of Purcell Miller Tritton’s 2006 Gazetteer of the New Bodleian Library,read alongside section 4 of the Heritage Impact Assessment, gives a comprehensiveindication of the surviving original material in the building.Whilst the ongoing alterations will update the stacks and modify the atmosphere ofthe entrance area, the experience of the reader working within the reading rooms willbe largely unchanged from 65 years ago. The current and future generations ofscholars will use the same chairs at the same desks as the first users of the building inthe 1940s. The survival of so much of the furniture and of the original fittings makesthis a special building and a particularly good example of Scott’s work.New Bodleian LibraryConservation Plan, April 201222