Major donation opens Bodleian Library to world

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bodleian Library in Oxford, whose world famous collection of books, manuscripts and artefacts has up to now only been open to scholars, is about to open its doors to all comers thanks to a major cash donation.

The 5 million pounds being given by Julian Blackwell of the academic bookshop chain of the same name will allow the library to build a new hall to open access to the collection and put much of it on permanent public view for the first time.

"The Bodleian is unique. It not only has the largest and most important University collections in the world, but it is leading the development of cutting-edge information services which are so vital to academic research," Blackwell said on Friday.

"I am proud that my personal Trust can support the Bodleian and thereby enable its neighbour, Blackwell's, to be a shared destiny lifetime partner," he added.

Among the items in the priceless collection are the earliest complete book written in the English language and dating from 890 AD, one of only eight surviving Gutenberg Bibles and Shakespeare's First Folio.

It also holds the original manuscripts of many book classics including Frankenstein and a map given to the king and queen of Spain which was probably used in discussions with Christopher Columbus before his 1492 voyage to discover the New World.

Founded in 1602, the Bodleian holds more than 9 million volumes as well as artefacts such as a chair made for Francis Drake from the beams of the Golden Hind in which he circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580.

The Bodleian is the biggest university library in Britain and second in size in the country only to the British Library.