Annual Report 2010/11 Introduction 3 Transformation 4 Book Storage Facility 5 Book Moves 5 Barcoding 6 Book Storage Facility Information System (BSFIS) 7 Integrated Library System 8 Staff relocation 9 New Bodleian Library 9 Direct access and the Gladstone Link 10 Just-in-time 12 Respondingt.o.c. to our users 14 Science and Medicine 15 Social Sciences 15 Humanities 16 Bodleian Reader Services 19 Special Collections 19 General Reader Services 20 Widening access 22 Exhibitions 23 Events 26 Communications 27 Publications 27 Public engagement 28 Content and service provision 30 Collection building 31 Digitization 34 Protecting the collections 35 Collection management 36 Estate 38 Radcliffe Observatory Quarter 39 Changes 39 Staff talent 40 Human Resources and Staff Development 41 Selected Staff Publications 41 Staff changes 42 Leadership 44 Curators 45 Library Management 45 Finance 45 Development 45 Collaboration 46 Facts and figures 48
1 2 Introduction ©KT Bruce 2011 The year to 31 July 2011 has been one of the in services, setting a new benchmark for most remarkable in the Bodleian Libraries’ libraries worldwide. 400-year history. At the beginning of At the same time new services and the year the initial steps in the upheavals projects were initiated and significant accompanying the metamorphosis in the collections were acquired. Fundraising Libraries’ estate and services had been activities continued, and the Libraries taken, but the Libraries – and in particular were fortunate enough to benefit from the the central Bodleian Library – were kindness of many donors; this was done in functioning much as they had done for the face of the financial exigencies resulting decades. By the end of the year almost every from the recession, and the requirement to aspect of the service had been radically make savings so that the Libraries could play transformed: the new repository at Swindon their part in meeting the challenges resulting had opened and was well on the way to from the downturn in the global economy. being filled; staff, books and furnishings had This has been a very stimulating year with gone from the New Bodleian Library; the a roster of achievement in which everyone Old Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Camera should take pride. As Bodley’s Librarian had been rejuvenated by the opening of I am enormously pleased to be able to the Gladstone Link, and a new Integrated present this report, and to pay tribute to Library System was in place. All of these the commitment, efficiency and enterprise transformations were interconnected and, of the staff of the Bodleian Libraries who of course, hiatuses in one could easily have have accomplished such an unprecedented impinged upon the progress of the others. success. However this was not the case, and by the end of the year all this had been achieved at Sarah E. Thomas breakneck pace with barely any interruption Bodley’s Librarian
3 TR ANSFOR MATION
4 Book Storage Facility Throughout the period the Ingest Project until in April 2011 recruitment to the At the start of the year the new Book Team at the Facility helped to maintain the permanent Operations Team started. Storage Facility (BSF) at South Marston, flow of books going into the warehouse, During this start-up year the book on the edge of Swindon, was nearing adapting staffing levels to meet needs (for delivery service from the BSF has completion, and was handed over to the example, by putting on a second shift in significantly evolved. It started as a once- Libraries on time and within budget on February 2011). This stage of the ingest was a-day service because of the low volume 6 September 2010. In the preceding weeks completed on 29 July 2011, by which time of material stored in the warehouse. By the Libraries’ Estates Projects office had over 5.3 million items had been ingested, August the two operational teams were been closely involved in the completion an average of almost 140,000 items every established and offering a service from and subsequent fit-out of the Facility: week. 7am to 10pm (Monday to Friday). They some 500,000 archival storage trays were The retrieval service supplying items retrieve items at 7am, 10am, 2pm, 5pm and procured, a detailed planogram for book from the BSF to readers went live on 7.30pm. This has reduced delivery times storage produced and contracts placed for 8 November 2010. The Ingest Project Team by five hours, and supports two scheduled the supply of the BSF’s fleet of high-level supported the early stages of the service, deliveries from the BSF to Oxford at 7am order pickers. The collection processing and 12.30pm. areas were designed, equipped and set up. By the end of October 2010 the furniture Book moves and IT had been installed, 38 agency staff The speed with which books and other trained, and the first book from the Oxford materials were moved into the BSF could collections ingested. not have been achieved without Herculean The opening of the BSF, under the efforts from the Bookmoving Team led by supervision of Boyd Rodger, signalled Bruce Wainwright. Their work had begun the start of an intensive period of activity the previous year with the move of Special whose main focus was the requirement to Collections material from the New Bodleian vacate the New Bodleian Library by 31 July into a temporary home specially prepared 2011 so that work on its redevelopment as for them in the Radcliffe Science Library, the Weston Library could begin. The BSF, and during the year the team had to deal in which material is stored in a regulated with a variety of moves additional to the warehouse environment which maintains main decant of more than three million a constant temperature and humidity level items from the New Bodleian. consistent with the standards required The first of the additional moves was the under British Standard BS5454, was the key transfer of the Official Papers collection enabler in the Libraries’ overall academic ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford (and its staff) to an area in the basement strategy. Barcoding in the Libraries of the Bodleian Law Library, and the
5 opening of a new reading room Technically the most on the ground floor of the St challenging element of the Cross Building. Over 2,500 process was the matching metres of material were moved, up of the barcoded items ten new reader places made with their records in the available, wireless installed as catalogue, and the accurate well as power for laptops and a recording of their relocation computer for consultation. The as they moved to the Facility; new service officially opened in the complexity of the October 2010. relationships between books The Official Papers on shelves and records in the collection was moved from the catalogue was even greater Underground Bookstore beneath than had been imagined, the lawn of the Radcliffe Camera, and the team constantly which was being emptied in devised new workflows and preparation for the construction methods to keep the process of the Gladstone Link. The whole on track for completion in Underground Bookstore work involved Barcoding July 2011. Monographs were barcoded moving out 15,777 linear metres of material All the material moved to the BSF had to using software designed and built by over 66 working days, and later refilling the be barcoded before ingest by the Inventory the OLIS Team. The extensive periodical space re-created as the Gladstone Link with Control Team led by Michael Williams. collections proved quite challenging and 4,008 linear metres of high-use material in Barcoding began in March 2010, but the pace a variety of barcoding techniques were shelfmark order in 23 working days. of work quickened during the year as the introduced to accommodate the differences The main task, of course, was to empty team worked to ensure that the bookmovers in arrangement of the collections and the the New Bodleian Library mainly to the always had material available for moving. level of cataloguing. The most difficult cases Book Storage Facility, but also involved Teams of yellow-jacketed barcoders – many were escalated for specialist attention in some consequential moves for material of them students supplementing their order to associate the barcode correctly transferred to the smaller libraries. The income – swarmed over the bookstacks like with an entry in the library catalogue. To the move involved 10,671 drawers of maps, bees in a hive. Not only were the collections end of July 2011 452,515 items received this representing over 1.2 million sheet maps; barcoded, but in the process legal deposit attention, including the addition of 43,141 84,831 linear metres of bound and loose- material was identified wherever possible: basic catalogue records for books which had leaf materials, ranging from books no more this allowed a substantial saving to be made no record previously. than two inches high to bound volumes of on the VAT arising from the building costs of At the same time as emptying the New broadsheet newspapers. the Facility. Bodleian, the Inventory Control Team
6 tackled the barcoding of almost two million items temporarily housed (for want of space in the Libraries) in a salt mine in Cheshire. By undertaking to vacate the mine by the end of June 2011 the Libraries realized a substantial saving in storage costs; so every day a 40-tonne lorry left the salt mine carrying 1,000 boxes of books, and every day these were barcoded and the following day sent to the Book Storage Facility. A total of 52 kilometres – 145,000 boxes – of books was processed. The team also found 4,541 items which had previously been mis-shelved or reported as missing.
Book Storage Facility Information System (BSFIS) The BSF is constructed on the Very Narrow ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford Aisle (VNA) principle with 12-metre high Shelving in the Book Storage Facility, Swindon shelving reached by ascending vehicles known as high-level order pickers. All matching each barcoded item to the tray in the contents are identified by barcodes – which it is housed, and each tray to a unique Team transferred the material to the BSF hence the need for the Inventory Control shelf address among the 97.5k of shelves for ingest. Close co-operation between Project – and locations and movements are within the BSF. the Inventory Control and BSFIS teams – tracked by the warehouse management One of the key interfaces is that including stationing Inventory Control team system, known as the Book Storage Facility between the BSFIS and OLIS, the Library staff at the BSF itself – resolved problems Information System (BSFIS). The BSFIS Management System, to ensure that arising when barcoded items arriving at the is based on software from US vendor books can be found when ordered. Every Book Storage Facility could not immediately Generation Fifth Applications (GFA). night, information was passed from be matched with the BSFIS’s files of The software manages all book-related OLIS to BSFIS about material released expected items. Given the rapid speed of operations within the BSF including ingest, by the barcoders after barcoding and the the process, maintaining control over the retrieval and re-file. The BSFIS holds the resolution of escalated problems. Hard on resolution of ‘NOFs’ (‘not-on-files’) was a location of every item placed in the BSF, the heels of the barcoding, the Bookmoving crucial element requiring the close co-
7 operation of a number of teams, in order to BSF: Storage for maps left, and a staff tour of the facility below keep the whole process on track. Following the ingest of material from the ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford New Bodleian and DeepStore, the BSFIS held the location of over 5.3 million items.
Integrated Library System A complicating factor in the development of BSFIS was that, at the same time as the installation of the BSFIS, the Libraries’ Integrated Library System, OLIS, was being replaced by a new system, which uses the Aleph product from Ex Libris, in a process scheduled for implementation in July 2011. This entailed writing programmes for BSFIS to communicate with both old and new systems. Because of the close interconnection between the warehouse and library management systems, both projects – BSFIS and ILS replacement – were managed by Business Applications Development Manager Andrew Bonnie. The implementation project lasted 18 months, culminating in the launch as
planned in July 2010. The team worked ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford extremely hard, in conjunction with the University’s ICT Support Team, to recover from a major failure of the outgoing system just four days before the planned migration; Aleph is configured to avert the dangers and 92,000 patron records from the old The new ILS provides a fully supported posed by the risk of such failures. The system. Preparation for the change included platform for the library’s core operations, implementation included the successful training for over 460 members of staff and including enhanced cataloguing options migration of 7.2 million bibliographic putting in place the configuration for more through the provision of full Unicode records, more than 13 million item records than 90 libraries. support, greater integration with SOLO
8 (‘Search Oxford Libraries Online ‘ – the The administration block at Osney readers’ interface to the catalogue) and a simplified approach to the management of closed-stack requests. A major upgrade of the software underlying SOLO was introduced for Michaelmas Term 2010. It included many functional enhancements. Oxford has enjoyed a partnership with the software vendor Ex Libris in the development of Primo Central, a product that enables our
readers to search rapidly a massive, cross- ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford disciplinary database of 400 million articles from within SOLO. In addition, through a tenants. The whole of the Collections changing responsibilities in relation to the benefaction from the philanthropist Zvi and Resource Description department Libraries’ estate. Meitar, we have been able to incorporate moved during September 2010, and much the bX Recommender service, allowing of the Conservation & Collection Care New Bodleian Library readers to see patterns of usage by department followed shortly thereafter. The redevelopment of the New Bodleian scholars worldwide of the material they are A number of smaller departments – Library into the Weston Library, designed consulting; and enrichment data (such as Imaging Services, Publications, and some by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and officially tables of contents) for our records, both of curatorial and reader services staff – also opening in 2015, has three aims: to create which improve considerably the searching moved. Some Conservation & Collection high quality storage for the Libraries’ and user experience of SOLO. Care staff moved into the Clarendon valuable special collections, which include Building, as did over a dozen curatorial the rare and unique manuscripts, books, Staff relocation staff. Music and Maps staff (and the maps and scores that the Bodleian preserves The safe removal of 3.5 million items from reading room collections) were moved for the international world of scholarship; to the New Library over nine months may into Duke Humfrey’s Library, where develop the Libraries’ space for the support be the attention-grabbing achievement, space was available consequent upon the of advanced research; and to expand public but the relocation of over 200 staff from provision of Special Collections facilities access to its great treasures through new the building in the same period was no for readers in the Radcliffe Science Library. exhibition galleries and other facilities. less challenging. The majority of staff Other curatorial staff moved into the Old Throughout the year, Estates Projects relocated to the administration block at Bodleian Library. Facilities Management worked closely with the Design Team Osney, which itself underwent a number staff were also split between Osney and working through RIBA Stage E and part of alterations to accommodate its new the central Bodleian site, reflecting their of Stage F. Estates Projects managed the
9 final clearance of the building’s furniture Jane Austen’s The Watsons, acquired just two basis of previous use by readers, and the and equipment and the strip-out of fittings weeks previously. The building was officially most recent (three to four years’) intake ahead of handover. The main and demolition handed to the contractors on 1 August 2011. of academic material not already placed contractors were appointed. All heritage elsewhere on open shelves. This new open- furniture was inventoried and moved into Direct access and the Gladstone Link access area contributed to the Library’s storage, and at the same time support One element of the academic strategy is strategy of keeping high use material in was given to the Inventory Control and to make more material directly available to Oxford and lesser-used material at the BSF Bookmoving Teams. readers. This was achieved by remodelling in Swindon. In March the Libraries were pleased to the Underground Bookstore – built 100 The opportunity was taken to offer a announce a $3 million donation by Charles years ago to accommodate the Libraries’ new kind of study space for readers, with and George David in memory of their father, first high-density mobile shelving, as furniture of various styles, shapes, sizes Charles Wendell David, who attended Oxford conceived by none other than William and heights, and a group study area. as a Rhodes Scholar and went on to careers in Gladstone – to form a new reader space, The Gladstone Link provides a study the United States as a medieval historian and the Gladstone Link, with some 120 seats environment contrasting with the more pioneering university librarian. The donation and provision for approximately 270,000 formal reading rooms in the Old Bodleian will be marked by naming the New Bodleian items on open access. This roughly doubled Library and Radcliffe Camera. At the same ‘penthouse’ reading room in his honour. the open-shelf provision on the central time it respects the industrial heritage of On 29 July 2011 a celebratory party was Bodleian site to around 500,000. The items the original space and retains a proportion held in the former PPE reading room to included high-use material selected on the of the Gladstone-designed bookshelves. celebrate the successful emptying of the It opened in July 2011 (with a formal New Bodleian Library. Bodley’s Librarian was ceremony later in the year) and has been formally piped from the building carrying the enthusiastically welcomed by readers. final item to be removed: the manuscript of
10 11 the two buildings. The opening of the The Old Schools Quadrangle was repaved tunnel was a key aspect of the policy of (using existing paving where possible) encouraging more freedom of movement as part of the project. Not only was the for readers within the secure perimeter of historic space in need of repair but an the buildings. At the Old Library end of the etching from 1675 shows the threshold of tunnel a new lift was installed in the shaft various doors of the Quadrangle as level formerly occupied by the book conveyor in with the ground. Restoring and relevelling the north-west corner of the Library. For the Quadrangle allowed the Bodleian to the first time in its history, the Library can offer level access at four major doorways, offer access to wheelchair users, and greatly enabling the removal of several ramps and improved access for anyone who cannot improving access for the mobility impaired. easily manage stairs. In addition the lift is Last but not least, a tearoom for readers ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford used for book deliveries to the Old Library (with separate area for staff) was created The Gladstone Link reading rooms and for moving books around in the Schola Grammaticae et Historiae in The Gladstone Link was the major within the building. As part of the work to the Quadrangle’s northeast corner. This is element in the Underground Bookstore/ install the new lift, the ground floor of the a facility that readers have often requested Old Bodleian project but not the only Old Bodleian Library was remodelled to when surveyed about the Library. one. An important aim was to improve improve the coat and bag storage provision The outcome has been the creation of the accessibility of the Link itself and for readers including new clear-fronted more flexible and more accessible spaces, the surrounding areas. To this end two lockers, and a disabled toilet provided on and new facilities for readers. book hoists were installed, between the the ground floor for readers and visitors. Basement and Main levels of the Gladstone Previously the only such provision had been Just-in-time Link; and a platform lift was installed in the New Bodleian Library. In addition Throughout the period of book and staff between the Main level of the Gladstone the first- and second- floor landings in the moves, remodelling buildings and their Link and the Lower Radcliffe Camera north-west corner were remodelled: the allied services, and the introduction of new Reading Room to facilitate book movement first-floor landing now includes a dedicated IT systems, staff continued to offer a first- and shelving and to assist with mobility storage area for book trolleys and deliveries, rate service to readers. In addition to coping impaired access to the Radcliffe Camera. A while the second-floor landing has been left with changes themselves, they had to guide new staircase was designed around this lift, clear as a breakout area so that readers can readers through the changes and did so with replacing a very steep stairwell. enjoy the beautiful views of Oxford from good humour, patience and professionalism. The tunnel that links the Old Bodleian this space. Remodelling the second-floor In addition a new service was introduced, Library and Radcliffe Camera was landing also revealed a section of the Upper the ‘Just-in-Time’ Project, which was refurbished and opened up to readers: it Reading Room frieze that had previously established and developed in October and now provides a vibrant passage between been obscured by masonry partitions. November 2010 to supply readers with
12 materials made temporarily inaccessible as allowing readers to ask questions directly of a result of book moves and estates projects. library staff and to receive an online answer The aim was that during barcoding, book in real time. The service was at first only moves and BSF ingest procedures, most intended to run during the migration and material would be inaccessible for no more the initial period of operation of the new ILS than three weeks, and the Just-in-Time (Integrated Library System), while readers team’s task was to find substitutes for the became familiar with it; but it was so 5% of materials unavailable at any moment instantly popular and received such strongly in time, if these were requested. Clear positive feedback that the service has been procedures, workflows and hierarchies of retained as a permanent addition to the alternate sources were developed for the Libraries’ range of reader support facilities. operation of the service: between October 2010 and July 2011, 3,580 requests were dealt with by the service, 90% of them successfully resolved. The essential role of the college libraries in supporting the Just-in-Time initiative deserves to be acknowledged here. The service was extended to cover all offsite materials made inaccessible during the ILS migration to Aleph, in addition to those involved in book moves. A web-based request form and a range of alternative sources were developed for use during this period. Additional staff were recruited from across the Bodleian Libraries to assist with the service and carried out preliminary work on requests and supported the core team during peak periods. During the migration period 481 requests were received, of which 99.6% were resolved successfully. A new service was introduced – on the
SOLO home page a ‘live help’ box using ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Meebo was introduced during core hours, Solo’s Meebo system
13 RESPONDING TO OUR USERS ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
14 Left Library at the Said Business School
While the enormous upheavals were iPads with preloaded e-book content and participants have been a significant in progress, staff continued to provide apps. and exciting addition to the service and undiminished services to readers and The Health Care Libraries created online information delivery work of the staff of the introduced several initiatives. tutorials on topics such as finding the Library. evidence and how to access NHS online Science and Medicine resources, in response to students’ needs The Plant Sciences and Zoology printed and schedules. resources were made more easily available by the reclassification and incorporation Social Sciences of unique titles into the Radcliffe Science The Bodleian Law Library created 35 Library single sequence, locating books separate guides to resources and collections in the Lankester Room and periodicals in covering 16 jurisdictions and 16 legal upper reading rooms. The Radcliffe Science subjects. In addition, five guides to the Library continued to monitor physical space various Official Papers collections were usage by use of the Sentry security system also produced. The Library works in close and conducted an analysis of needs to co-operation with the Law Faculty, and ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford survey the usage of printed collections at members of the Law Library were the The Taylorian the Library. recipients of the Bodleian Libraries Teaching The Radcliffe Science Library has and Learning Award 2011. The Bodleian Education Library acquired Kindles for loan to readers, and The Sainsbury Library at the Said introduced sessions integrated into during the year it purchased additional Business School secured the installation of academic programmes, for all students, relevant book content for them. In addition, a digital wall-mounted flat screen monitor covering literature searching for the range of e-readers available was behind the information desk, with a looping assignments; managing references; increased by the introduction of loanable PowerPoint presentation, which displays working with the literature for theses; and information to orient users to the Library systematic review training. For Masters environment, both physically and by and DPhil students, the librarian also ran signposting them to our online presence. a range of joint seminars and workshops The Library took part in a School-initiated with the Director of Graduate Studies, to exercise resulting in a revised platform of train students in topics such as doing the services covering both the Park End Street literature review and avoiding plagiarism users and those staff and participants and a series of Dissertation Skills Workshops located at its Egrove executive education for all Masters students. All sessions are
©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford campus. As a result, induction programmes now listed in academic timetables and
The Social Science Library delivered to Executive Education course course handbooks, making them an integral
15 part of the academic programme. The “I thought the SSD SSSH was a fabulous refreshed with relevant newsfeeds and new Library increased its online training through event … I genuinely cannot remember the scholarly papers. The Library also joined its suite of information skills tutorials on last time I felt such a buzz around a group of Facebook; during the year, 149 ‘liked’ the WebLearn: six video tutorials were provided, graduates. It was quite different from most site. with accompanying tutorials to practise poster sessions … because displays were not the skills. The Library continued to work to limited to a single discipline but spanned Humanities digitize eligible core reading list materials, the whole of the social sciences. It certainly The English Faculty Library provides a funded by the Department of Education. opened my eyes to the quality and diversity substantial programme of information The Latin American Centre Library made of the work of our students and I have no skills training for English undergraduates, good progress with a project to reduce doubt that it opened the eyes of many of the closely tailored to particular elements duplicated and unused stock to provide a students too.” of the syllabus; the Deputy Librarian, relevant and focused working collection. Divisional emphasis on research methods Kerry Webb, received one of the Bodleian The Tylor Library for Social and and transferable skills was well supported Libraries awards for the support of teaching Cultural Anthropology produced a new by the Library’s Graduate Search Clinics and learning for her wide-ranging work in Anthropology subject guide and the programme, a set of ten sessions designed support of readers, colleagues and trainees. Library’s first full website to enhance its to support inter-disciplinary research In addition the Library introduced the use of online presence; and work started on and develop effective searching skills. ‘LibraryThing’ to produce user-friendly Web converting the library classification scheme Workshops included: ‘Turning a research 2.0-based accessions lists. from home-grown to Library of Congress, in question into an effective search strategy’; Historians can now be alerted to new consultation with academic staff. ‘Newspapers and analysis: tools for publications on a historical period or At the end of Trinity Term, the Social researching global affairs’ and ‘Resources country, thanks to the use of Virtual New Science Library organized and hosted a new for researching public policy’. The Library Books Display for newly received history event, ‘Social Science Showcase’ (branded also offered hands-on workshops embedded books in both the History Faculty Library as ‘Sssh...’). Of the initial 30 students who in the Department’s curriculum. and the Bodleian, covering both relevant signed up using an online booking form, 19 The Library joined the Bodleian Libraries’ legal deposit and purchased intake, graduates presented posters, representing website, creating a new set of pages in including e-book purchases (http://www. research from nine departments in the time for the beginning of Michaelmas bodleian.ox.ac.uk/history/collections/ Social Sciences Division. Professor Roger Term 2010. A key part of the new site acquisitions). Goodman, Head of the Social Sciences comprises a growing set of ‘How do I…?’ The new Wellcome Unit for the History of Division, gave a speech to welcome links, providing quick answers to frequently Medicine Library website went live in March participants in which he highlighted the asked questions. The Library also created 2011. It now follows the Bodleian Libraries’ crucial relationship between the library and 13 subject-based online guides for research model and is much more extensive than the research it supports. Afterwards he resources using the new LibGuides the previous webpage. Accompanying it wrote: software; RSS feeds keep the LibGuides are a number of other applications to keep
16 ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
17 Detail from the painting scroll of the funeral procession of King Yŏngjo (1694 – 1776). MS. Asiat. Misc. a.1. One of the Korean treasures held in the Bodleian
people updated with news, events and new available for US Studies at Oxford. This blog In the Taylor Institution Library from resources: a blog, a Twitter page, a Delicious is intended to help support readers at the April 2011 onwards work was under way to page for bookmarked websites and a Vere Harmsworth Library in locating and prepare the teaching collection for the initial LibraryThing account for new books. These using resources in the Library’s collections stage of phase one of the Taylor Institution have helped promote the library and formed and online, and complements the online Capital Project which will provide major links with other institutions particularly in guides to resources available via the improvements for the Library’s users. the UK and US. Bodleian Libraries’ LibGuides platform. The Following the development of the The Vere Harmsworth Library Librarian blog can be viewed at http://vhlresources. Bodleian Korean library collections in 2009, set up a new blog focusing on the resources blogspot.com. including the acquisition of over 3,000
18 monographs and an important collection received with good up-take and feedback. which online catalogue records were either of books and reproduced manuscripts from Opening hours offered were 11am–5pm to absent or insufficient. the Kyujanggak Royal Library, Minh Chung tie in with Historic Venues’ opening of the The Maps Section also brought to a at the Bodleian Oriental Institute Library site and also some other Bodleian Libraries successful conclusion the AHRC-funded initiated a project to promote the rich opening hours. ‘Linguistic Geographies’ project, delivering Korean collections of the Bodleian Libraries both a website on the Gough Map (http:// and the University museums, which will Special Collections www.goughmap.org), and ‘The Language be supported in 2011–12 by a grant from Many of the activities of Special Collections of Maps’, a three-day colloquium held at the the Cultural Heritage Administration of revolved around the care of the collections Bodleian in June 2011 attracting 60 delegates the Republic of Korea for the promotion of during the emptying of the New Bodleian from nine countries. Korean cultural artefacts. Library. The Maps and Music Sections March 2011 saw the launch of the The Bodleian Oriental Institute Library relocated to Duke Humfrey’s Library; they JISC-funded online catalogue of the moved to year-round Saturday opening and and other sections of Special Collections had Bodleian and Cambridge collections of extended evening opening hours. Readers to devise new methods of handling materials Islamic manuscripts, Fihrist. This provides welcomed the increased access to the ordered from the Book Storage Facility, for brief descriptions of some 5,000 Arabic collection and also the consolidation of the Oriental material from the New Bodleian Reading Room.
Bodleian Reader Services Staff in the Bodleian Reader Services Department were heavily and directly involved in many aspects of the transformation of the central site during the year under review, in particular maintaining the book service as the main stack was emptied and the BSF filled; relocating dozens of staff; and surmounting the disruptions in the Radcliffe Camera, Underground Bookstore and Old Bodleian Library during their refurbishment. The Department piloted Sunday opening of the Radcliffe Camera during Hilary and Trinity Terms and this was extremely well
19 texts, formerly only accessible via a card catalogue in the Special Collections Reading Room. Further funding from JISC has allowed the catalogue to be expanded to include manuscript descriptions from six other libraries, including the British Library and SOAS. The John Johnson Collection website was totally rewritten, including the posting of hundreds of new indexes, checked and/or created by volunteers. The Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House created new LibGuides for African (http:// libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/african-studies) and Commonwealth (http://libguides. bodleian.ox.ac.uk/commonwealth-studies) Studies.
General reader services The new series of online readers’ guides, LibGuides, was launched at the start of the year and further developed during the year as a single point of entry for readers looking for guidance on subject resources and information skills. The site (http://libguides. bodleian.ox.ac.uk) currently provides 176 World map by the ‘Balkhı- School’ guides covering over 70 subject areas plus from a Persian translation of Kita-b al-Masa-lik wa-al-mama-lik (‘Book guidance on bibliometrics, referencing and of Routes and Provinces’) by plagiarism and other information skills. - al-Is.t.akhrı (d. c.951). MS. Ouseley Many guides also include online tutorials. 373, fols. 3b–4a (1297 [696 h]) The range of subjects and skills covered will continue to expand during 2011–12. Attendance at undergraduate induction
20 was improved by the development of a new Libraries. The Libraries’ fleet of copiers was database to streamline the timetabling with largely replaced at this time so that readers colleges. It has simplified arrangements for have a common experience no matter where joint schools and PPE students by ensuring they are. By the end of the year over 16,000 that they can learn about all the libraries accounts had been opened; readers have that they need to use at a single session. welcomed the new reprographic services The Libraries welcomed visitors coming available to them. to faculty and college open days, as well The second phase of the PILLOT Inter- as the usual large group of UNIQ (formerly library Loan project saw the implementation Sutton Trust) summer-school students in of an improved web interface and online July for whom the staff provided induction payment. and support with writing their essays. The Accessible Resources Acquisition The Admissions Office admitted over and Creation Unit provided materials in 11,000 readers during the year; its initial alternative formats to 14 students, a 50% briefings about the use of library services, increase from the previous year. There disposition of reading rooms and ordering was also an increase of 20% in the number arrangements changed constantly as of disabled readers requiring special the year progressed, in response to the adjustments when using the Bodleian transformative activities which dominated Libraries and its collections: 81 readers were the year. A database manager was eligible for them. appointed to manage the admissions and The Systems and Electronic Resources access control databases, improving our Service appointed a permanent member capacity to support the current systems and of staff devoted to the management of the working towards innovative improvements large collection of databases throughout in line with University demands and the Bodleian Libraries. Improvements were expectations. made this year to the Library Card and User A new Print, Copy and Scan service Education databases, allowing us to improve (PCAS) was introduced across the Bodleian services to new and existing readers; and to Libraries on 9 August 2010. This gave library the Libstats database thus improving the users access to a range of new services, collection of organizational statistics and including printing from laptops, scanning, our understanding of usage. colour copies, online accounts, discounted duplex and print jobs that can be collected from any photocopier in any of the Bodleian Winter comes to the Radcliffe Science Library
21 WIDENING ACCESS
Left Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour in the Quad
22 ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford Shelley’s Ghost exhibition website Exhibitions the study of ancient megaliths At the start of the year the exhibition “My to the creation of a new artificial wit was always working”: John Aubrey and language. the Development of Experimental Science was The Bodleian’s winter still running. This examined the intellectual exhibition Shelley’s Ghost: world of the English seventeenth-century Reshaping the Image of a Literary scientific and cultural figure John Aubrey Family ran from December 2010 (1626–97), one of the founding fellows of to March 2011. Spanning three the Royal Society of London, with a broad generations of literary figures, S and deep range of scholarly interests, from the exhibition charted the history of a family blessed with genius but marred by tragedy, John Aubrey by William Faithorne the Elder, 1666. Oxford, Ashmolean Museum showcasing letters, literary manuscripts, rare printed books and pamphlets, portraits and relics, including Shelley’s own notebooks, a letter of John Keats, William Godwin’s diary and the original manuscripts of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The exhibition this translation enterprise, specifically featured treasures lent by the Pforzheimer showcasing the contribution of the Oxford Collection of the New York Public Library, translation committees, of which notable many of which had never been on public members were John Rainolds (President display in the UK. The exhibition has since of Corpus Christi College), Henry Savile travelled to the Wordsworth Museum at (Warden of Merton College) and Miles Smith Dove Cottage in Grasmere, and will be (Corpus Christi and Brasenose College). shown at the New York Public Library in Again it was complemented by an online 2012. It was complemented by a major version, and in addition the Libraries’ first online exhibition. mobile app, for iPhone, iPad and Android. The summer exhibition Manifold Lunchtime lectures were presented for both Greatness: Oxford and the Making of the exhibitions. King James Bible celebrated the Bible’s The exhibition was organized by the quatercentenary. It examined the events Bodleian Libraries in association with the and conditions that led to and shaped Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington,
23 24 D.C. where some items went on display at the Philip & Rosamund Davies US Elections the Folger’s related exhibition in Autumn Campaigns Archive was exhibited in support 2011. of a conference on Political Marketing; The Proscholium exhibition case again and in May 2011, to tie in with the Annual hosted a series of short displays, starting Esmond Harmsworth Lecture in American and ending the year with displays linked Literature, RAI Fellow Dr Sally Bayley to the performances by the Globe on helped staff to curate an exhibition placing Tour: Childhood Innocence: Shakespeare Marilynne Robinson’s work in the wider for children to accompany A Midsummer American literary context. Night’s Dream in 2010 and Love poetry Bodleian Libraries materials were by Shakespeare and his contemporaries to lent to a number of British and overseas accompany As You Like It in 2011. Between institutions during the year, and one of the them came Armed with the King’s Letter: Libraries’ engrossments of Magna Carta was John Leland and the Monastic Libraries exhibited in San Diego, Los Angeles, and of England; The Very Best People in the San Francisco. Kingdom: The Harcourts of Nuneham Park; Alfred Bestall: Illustrator of Rupert Bear; Bent Juel-Jensen, Munificent Friend of the Bodleian Library; Cultural Revolution in Berlin: Jews in the Age of Enlightenment; Piers Plowman: Visions of Heaven, Hell and Middle Earth (to coincide with the International Piers Plowman Society conference ); and Linguistic geographies: three centuries of language, script and cartography in the Gough map of Great Britain. During the course of the year the Vere Harmsworth Library held exhibitions in support of events at the Rothermere American Institute and the wider University. Left The opening of the Gospel of St John in the 1611 King James Bible. Oxford, Bodleian In September 2010, an exhibition of Library, Bib. Eng. 1611 b.1 interesting items from the collections was set up for the University’s Alumni Weekend; Right Magna Carta – This original was sent by the royal chancery in November 1217 to in March 2011, a selection of material from the county of Gloucestershire.
25 Events selected material from the Bodleian’s own For the fourth year running Oxford collections and explored what they revealed Playhouse and the Bodleian Libraries about the prime ministers; ‘The Postcard hosted Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour Books’ by Tom Phillips who captivated his in the contemporary setting of the Old audience with his deliberations on photo- Schools Quadrangle. The play for 2011 was postcards, thematically arranged by the As You Like It and was sold out weeks in artist; and ‘Illustrating Empire: Images from
advance, with returns being some of the ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford the John Johnson Collection’ by Ashley hottest tickets in town. Accompanying the Jackson and staff member David Tomkins, performances was a series of well-attended who considered some of the themes introductory talks offered by members (emigration and settlement, exploration of the Faculty of English and a display and knowledge) encountered in studying of Shakespeareana from the Bodleian’s the Empire, using a selection of evocative collections. illustrations from the Bodleian’s John The Bodleian’s lunchtime lecture Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera. programme was expanded to include The masterclasses programme, showing six lectures on themes in the exhibition original material from the library collections, Shelley’s Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a presented seminars in four categories of Literary Family. Speakers were drawn from Special Collections: literary manuscripts, London, Warwick, Durham and Newcastle, medieval manuscripts, modern political as well as from the University. The talks papers and printed books. Reports of these were free, open to members of the public classes are posted on the Special Collections and, from the attendances, proved to be a blog, The Conveyor (http://theconveyor. welcome addition to the Libraries’ outreach wordpress.com/). activities. Two one-day symposia, ‘The Gathered The Bodleian Library is now a well- Text’ in September 2010 and ‘The Place of established venue for the Oxford Literary Bindings’ in June 2011, examined the history Festival. This year the Bodleian hosted contained in the structures of books. six entertaining lectures, including ‘The Four visiting researchers (http://www. Future of the Bodleian Libraries’ by bodley.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships.htm) were Bodley’s Librarian; ‘Prime Ministerial Lives attached to the Centre for the Study of the and Letters’, in which a stellar line-up Book this year. They conducted research on
of panellists (DR Thorpe, Philip Ziegler, As You Like it performed in the Quad Thomas Bodley’s correspondence at the time Kenneth Morgan and Vernon Bogdanor) of the Library’s founding; Yiddish printing
26 in Prague during the seventeenth and European Association of Japanese Resource acquisition of the John Le Carré archives and eighteenth centuries; eighteenth-century Specialists. The goal of the workshop was Jane Austen’s manuscript for The Watsons British antiquarians in the Middle East, and to gain practical knowledge of and first- attracted particular attention. In-house radio design and marketing between the hand experience in the reading of kuzushi-ji designs underpinned the BSF opening (for wars. Reports of these visits are published in (Japanese old-style writing) of the pre- which commemorative posters, pop-up the Bodleian Library Record. modern period. The workshop received invitations and printed notepads were One of the research fellows, Professor an enthusiastic response from its 30 produced) and many other events through Peter Scott (University of Reading), participants – scholars, librarians, curators the year. delivered the inaugural Douglas Byrne and graduate students from the UK, Europe Marconi Lecture on 1 March 2011, on the and North America. Publications subject of ‘Radio manufacturing between The Libraries published 15 titles this year, the wars’. An interview conducted by Communications including The First English Dictionary of Jim Bennett (University Museum of The Libraries’ website continued to Slang, 1699, which received wide review the History of Science) with Professor develop, thanks in part to the generous coverage (including the Wall Street Journal) Scott can be downloaded from the support of Dr Leonard Polonsky and the and Manifold Greatness: The Making of the Museum’s website (http://rss.oucs. Polonsky Family Foundation. His donation King James Bible to accompany the Libraries’ ox.ac.uk/oxitems/generatersstwo2. supported the appointment of a Content exhibition. The latter proved the most php?channel_name=histmus/general- Management System and Web Developer, successful title to date with sales of around audio&destination=poau), while the and also underpinned the expansion of our 4,000 copies. In general, sales increased lecture itself can be downloaded from the capacity to mount online exhibitions. The over the previous year by 34%. Museum’s location on ‘Podcasts from the two major exhibitions of the year each had University of Oxford’ at http://podcasts. online versions, accompanied by additional ox.ac.uk/#histmus-unit. material such as videos, commentaries, Together with Professor Frellesvig of the blogs, podcasts, and activities for children. Oriental Institute, the Bodleian Japanese Manifold Greatness also saw the launch of Library organized a successful kuzushi-ji the Bodleian’s first app for mobile devices, workshop held at the Oriental Institute available for iPhones, iPads and Androids. from 29 June to 1 July. Held under the The Communications section worked expert guidance of Professor Yuichiro hard to promote the work of the Libraries Imanishi, Director of the National Institute throughout the year, starting with the of Japanese Literature (NIJL), the workshop opening of the BSF, which was reported was the first one, organized as part of worldwide and even reached the Wall Street the three-year NIJL European kuzushi- Journal. Major acquisitions, exhibitions and ji workshop project, supported by the benefactions were promoted: news of the
27 Public engagement almost 10% over the previous The Bodleian Libraries usually year. The Library was assessed ask readers not to write in books, incognito by VisitEngland’s but at the beginning of August independent assessors and on 10 visitors were encouraged to grab June 2011 was awarded the status a pen and write inside ‘The Big of a VisitEngland Quality Assured Book’, a public art installation Attraction. on display in the Clarendon In May 2010 two items from Quadrangle (pictured right). The the Bodleian collections were sculpture, named Imagine , was inscribed onto the UK Memory of made from wood and canvas the World Register. (The Memory pages by Oxford artist Diana Bell of the World Register is a UNESCO and stood 2.2m high. Visitors catalogue of documentary were invited to write about their heritage of national significance imaginations in the book. and outstanding value.) The The Old Bodleian Library Gough Map, dated to the participated in the now annual fourteenth century, is the most Christmas Light Night when important and most enigmatic museums, theatres and galleries cartographic representation of throw open their doors to the Great Britain from the medieval public for a one-off late night period. It is the earliest surviving celebration of the arrival of the Christmas a substantially higher financial contribution route map of Britain, and the earliest season. The Oxford Girls’ Choir and musicians back to the Libraries. surviving map depicting Britain with a from the Oxfordshire County Music Service The Old Bodleian Library was granted a recognizable coastline and depicts over provided entertainment for the 1,800 licence to celebrate wedding ceremonies 600 towns and villages. The Cura Pastoralis visitors who took the opportunity to view the in January 2011, and enquiries and (Pastoral Care), King Alfred’s translation historic spaces and to buy their Christmas bookings for weddings and receptions have from the Latin of Gregory the Great, is a cards and gifts in the Bodleian shop. The consequently risen. An electronic point manuscript book dating from around 890 shop itself invested in its infrastructure, a of sale system was introduced for tours, and is the earliest surviving book written step necessitated by the closure of the New providing better financial controls and entirely in the English language. It is the only Bodleian Library, the former operational more efficient and streamlined processes; surviving book which can be linked directly base for the department. This development customers now receive a tour ticket as well with King Alfred.. Country-level Memory of and investment puts Retail Operations in a as a receipt. In 2010/11 gross income from the World Registers exist around the globe, position to grow and expand, thereby giving tours, corporate hire and filming rose by complementing the International Register.
28 The Big Book installation in the Clarendon Quadrangle
29 CONTENT AND SERVICE PROVISION ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
30 Collection building databases that were previously available interpretations in a way which has hitherto The Bodleian Libraries were able to acquire only to the Business School, thus securing not been possible. Their research value was several important new electronic resources greater value for the Oxford research immediately recognized by members of this year. Existing online collections were community at large. the Music Faculty. While full cataloguing of expanded with the addition of State Papers There were several significant additions the collection remains a longer-term goal, Part II: The Tudors, 1509–1603: State Papers to digital newspaper subscriptions during access to the new recordings is possible (Foreign) and additional content in Mass the year. Among them were the newspaper Observation and FBIS (Foreign Broadcast archives of The Spectator (1828–2000), Information Service). The subscription Times of India (1838–2002), Financial Times to ProQuest Dissertations and Abstracts (1888–2007), Latin American Newspapers was upgraded to include the full text of (1805–1922), New York Amsterdam News many Humanities and Social Science (1922–1993), Pittsburgh Courier (1911–2002) dissertations. and Izvestiia (1917–2010) – the Bodleian was For Latin American studies two new the first UK library to acquire this archive, databases, PRISMA (Publicaciones y thanks to the John Simmons Trust Fund. Revistas Sociales y Humanísticas) and HAPI Through a generous donation made via (Hispanic American Periodicals Index), were the History Faculty, the Libraries were able trialled and acquired after positive feedback to purchase access to the archives of two from both academics and students. African-American newspapers in December There were additional literary collections, – the Pittsburgh Courier (1911–2002) and the including Perdita Manuscripts: Women New York Amsterdam News (1922–1993). Writers 1500–1700 and African Writers With the Chicago Defender, to which we Series, being all the books published in the already had access, Oxford is the only Heinemann series of that name from 1962 to institution in Western Europe to have access 2003. The purchase of Early European Books to the archives of three major African-
2: Italian expanded the Libraries’ extensive American newspapers. ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford online holdings of early books. The papers The Music Faculty Library’s collection of of some of the American founding fathers opera CDs was greatly enriched by a major through a fully searchable spreadsheet, (Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, donation of over 1,000 recordings received containing basic details, which is available Madison (and Dolley Madison)) added to the from the estate of the late historian, through the Library’s web pages. growing collection of online resources on Robert Oresko. The collection contains During the year the Libraries bought American history. multiple performances of a large number books destined for the Mr Po Chung The Sainsbury Library negotiated of operas, including many live and historic Personal Development Collection. This University-wide access to a number of recordings, allowing for comparison of is a lending collection housed within
31 Below Franz Kafka letters Right Jane Austen’s manuscript of The Watsons
the Gladstone Link, purchased with the generosity of Mr Po Chung for students, researchers and staff to borrow as part of the first lending collection in the Central Bodleian Library. The TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association) library, previously held at Buckinghamshire New University, was transferred to the Radcliffe Science Library, which retained the unique titles in the collection. In a unique arrangement the Bodleian Libraries and Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach jointly purchased a collection of letters by Franz Kafka – the first time that a literary archive has been purchased by two institutions in different countries with the intention to share access and scholarly activities. The letters became part of the existing major Kafka archives already held in excess of £1 million, was made possible cabinet, as well as personal papers from his by the Bodleian and Marbach. with a substantial grant (£894,700) from time as an undergraduate at Balliol College, In rather different vein, John le Carré the National Heritage Memorial Fund. revealing his active role in student politics (David John Moor Cornwell), one of the Other generous funders were the Friends during the 1930s. world’s most celebrated authors, offered of the National Libraries, the Friends of the The composer Philip Cannon donated his his literary archive to the Libraries with Bodleian, Jane Austen’s House Museum music manuscripts and related material to the intention that they should become (Jane Austen Memorial Trust) as well as the Bodleian Libraries. In celebration, his Te its permanent home. Le Carré said, ‘I am other supporters. Deum was sung during the service of Matins delighted to be able to do this. Oxford was Again with support from the National at Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday, 23 Smiley’s spiritual home, as it is mine’. Heritage Memorial Fund the Libraries January 2011. The Libraries acquired at auction the acquired the archive of former Conservative The University Archives took delivery autograph draft manuscript of the last Prime Minister, Sir Edward Heath (1916– of a substantial body of records from the major Jane Austen manuscript to have 2005). This comprises almost 1,000 boxes Medical School, dating from the 1920s to been in private hands, her unfinished novel and including a rich and diverse collection of the –2000s, being the first records of the The Watsons. The acquisition, which cost papers from his time in office, in the shadow School to be transferred to the Archives.
32 The watsons image
33 The EMLO website; Said Business School’s EUREKA website; Read and Note
They comprise personal files of clinical students; minutes and related papers of committees of the Medical School and Medicine Faculty Board; correspondence of the School and Division; and other records including indexes of students and photographs. 381 early or rare books were acquired by purchase or gift during the year, many demonstrator site to a select audience. through the continuing support of the The EMLO site, designed in collaboration Friends of the Bodleian. with the English and History Faculties, will be the final product of the Cultures of Digitization Knowledge project and provide a means of Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP), this The Blockbooks digital collection project interconnecting interdisciplinary research in cooperative academic initiative is producing site (http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ seventeenth-century intellectual history. legible and searchable encoded texts blockbooks_home) went live in 2010; it The Universities of Michigan and Oxford, that link to corresponding page images in displays blockbooks and printed images with the financial support of over 70 libraries EEBO. During the year over 7,500 books from the earliest period of printing, the mid worldwide have, since 1998, been creating were encoded and added to the EEBO- fifteenth to the sixteenth century. accurately keyboarded and SGML/XML- TCP corpus, representing over 320,000 The Cultures of Knowledge [explain?] encoded text editions for a significant pages or 81 million words. There has been project released an alpha version of the portion of ProQuest’s Early English Books a marked increase in usage of this valued Early Modern Letters Online (EMLO) Online corpus. Known as the EEBO-Text resource, partly assisted by the increase in
34 use of the TCP enhanced tables of contents. readiness for the upcoming Research specialist courier transport team for the safe Furthermore, the Bodleian Libraries secured Excellence Framework exercise. move of Special Collections items between a £1 million award from JISC Collections The Bodleian Libraries reached our dispersed locations. to make available a further 43,500 early agreement during the year with Read and A new online service for requesting printed texts as part of the project. Note (www.readandnote.com) to enhance conservation treatments increased This year also saw the completion of access to the Libraries’ exceptional digital confidence and satisfaction in the service as a multi-year project to scan, on behalf of collection, in particular materials derived well as increasing productivity, allowing for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the from the Oxford–Google digitization more efficient use of all staff members’ time. archives of the Society for the Protection of project and other e-book publications. The glass negatives and lantern slides Science and Learning, 1933–87. The archive The initiative will transform the ability to in the Anti-Slavery Society collection were comprises over 6,000 items relating to the access digitized books and other forms of rehoused in archival boxes: this was funded history of the organization. content, allowing users to read, annotate, by donations received at Duke Humfrey’s Thanks to the generosity and vision of extract and share comments across online, Night 2010. Dr Leonard Polonsky, the Libraries were mobile, and tablet platforms. The Systems able to offer to digitize a number of Oxford and E-Resource Service wrote sophisticated DPhil. theses. The response from authors scripts to produce PDF files from the raw was extremely positive, and staff have been data, and work began to put the delivery contacting authors to identify theses to be infrastructure in place. digitized, which will be deposited in ORA, Conservation team at work the Oxford University Research Archive. Protecting the collections The progress of the repository of the The Conservation team Said Business School’s research output, played an essential part in named EUREKA and created and managed the correct specification by the Sainsbury Library, reached a critical of the new Weston Library watershed when the link between the building plans, not just the School’s EUREKA research repository conservation laboratory and ORA was established, enabling the space but also exhibition and automatic flow of EUREKA entries into book storage areas. As the the University’s repository. This has added BSF came into use, the team around 700 entries to ORA, and concerted introduced a programme of effort is now being directed by both the training and specification of Sainsbury Library and the School’s Research correct handling procedures, Office to further populate the repositories protection of items in transit, as part of an overall initiative towards and the implementation of a ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
35 Collection management Images from the John Johnson The last year saw the inception of an online catalogue innovative pilot project, What’s the score at the Bodleian, to investigate a cost- effective approach to increasing access to music scores from the Bodleian’s collections, to be achieved by a combination of rapid digitization and the creation of descriptive metadata through crowd- sourcing. Following receipt of a grant from Google, around 4,000 items of sheet music (mostly Victorian piano music intended for domestic consumption) have been digitized and a platform is under development by Zooniverse, world leaders in crowd-sourcing technology, which will enable members of the public to contribute descriptions of the digitized scores. Originally developed as part of the Oxford Cambridge Islamic Manuscripts Catalogue Online, Fihrist (http://www.fihrist.org. the stability of ORA (Oxford University all the collections destined for the Weston uk/) became the national union catalogue Research Archive) and the service has Library in 2015 will be accessible via SOLO. of Islamic manuscripts. It now contains been re-launched with a top level URL Cataloguing of the Latin American the Islamic holdings of seven different UK (http://ora.ox.ac.uk/) which is indicative Centre Library’s extensive collection of grey libraries, including the British Library. of ORA’s importance as a central service literature began during Michaelmas 2010. The first stage of development of provided by the Bodleian Libraries for the The move to Osney allowed staff of DataBank, the Bodleian Libraries’ archival collegiate University. During this year, the Collections and Resource Description to be store for research data, was completed. content of ORA doubled as the service was integrated into a more cohesive team, and Collaboration with the British Library means synchronized with existing Oxford faculty enabled a more streamlined movement of that it is now possible to assign DOIs (Digital repositories. materials throughout the department. Object Identifiers) to research datasets in The Mellon-funded Music and Maps After the difficulties attendant upon DataBank. Development is continuing on Catalogues two-year project began: this the move of the Agency for the Legal this key strategic service. will see the conversion of approximately Deposit Libraries to Edinburgh, the year New servers were installed to increase 500,000 catalogue records, ensuring that saw a significant improvement in service,
36 resulting in the deposit of a huge influx of academic titles from major publishers at the start of 2011. The Agent continues with a programme of publisher engagement which is bearing fruit. A grant from the Wellcome Trust allowed the Libraries to commence cataloguing the papers of Sir Walter Bodmer, and the establishment of a project ‘Saving Oxford Medicine’, with the support of the Medical Sciences Division to survey and collect the papers of eminent Oxford medics. Work also began on the sorting and cataloguing on SOLO of the library of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) which to date has only been accessible via a card catalogue. This has also allowed de- duplication of the collection. A total revision of the display of the John Johnson online catalogue resulted in the introduction of new features include searching (as well as browse), thumbnails alongside display records, and links from individual records to the ProQuest project resources.
37 ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford ESTATE ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Scaffolding in the Radcliffe Camera upper reading room
38 Radcliffe Observatory Quarter achieved with the advice and assistance glass removed from the frames and the Plans were developed in consultation with the from colleagues in Conservation & Collection installation of temporary replacements relevant Faculties to move the Philosophy and Care as well as Oxford University Estates while the originals were restored and finally Theology Faculty libraries from their current Department. This translated into a modest replaced in their exact original positions. sites. Further detailed planning will continue 3.5% reduction in expenditure after allowing There was also opportunity to inspect through 2011/12 and the new integrated for the steep rises in gas and electricity unit the amazing timber construction of the library will open at the Radcliffe Infirmary in costs, but the trend at year-end is encouraging roof between the inner plaster and outer September 2012. It will continue to serve its and points to further significant savings. lead domes and to experience the highly current constituencies, but will also provide The Radcliffe Science Library created memorable view from the cupola. a library service for humanities research additional group study spaces within the Through several phases of change, the groups and humanities graduates based in Library and finalized the plans and timetable transport system underlying the book service the building, as well as for other departments for refurbishment of the former Hooke Library metamorphosed into one which handles as they move to the Radcliffe Observatory space to provide new subject support services more than twice as much library material and Quarter. The move will open up the collections (consultations by appointment) for advanced covers an additional 2,000 miles per month. for full access to readers with mobility students and academic and research staff. This was achieved with minimal inconvenience impairments, and offers the opportunity to The English Faculty’s IT Training Room for librarians and the least possible delay in improve opening hours. moved to a new room in space formerly used getting material to our readers. Facilities as the Law Library’s graduate work space. The Management and IT Support staff were also Changes new room was up and running in time for Law instrumental in ensuring that staff members The Health Care Libraries made substantial postgraduate library induction at the end of were moved around or into the Osney One headway in projects to reduce the footprint September and English undergraduate library building and successfully settled in. The of the Cairns Library while updating and induction the following week. contractors for the Underground Bookstore/ improving physical library spaces for users. The Estates Projects Office was involved Old Bodleian project drew heavily on Facilities The Libraries also vacated space in two in a number of small projects including Management’s knowledge of these complex departmental libraries, Plant Sciences and the re-shelving of the ground floor of the buildings to maintain access, safety and Zoology. Bodleian Law Library and the installation security throughout. This knowledge was Out of the public eye the Old Sawmill at of the new benefactors’ plaque in the Old also invaluable in dealing with the student Nuneham Courtenay, used for storage, was Bodleian Library and the Mallinckrodt Crest occupation of the Radcliffe Camera over also vacated, saving further costs. at the south entrance to the Old Schools three days in November 2010, when Facilities The Sackler Library made significant Quadrangle. Management staff, together with other progress in its long battle with escalating The three-year project to restore the volunteer Libraries staff, also maintained a energy costs incurred by its air-conditioned eighteenth-century windows in the dome of 24-hour presence in the building throughout environment. The year saw an overall the Radcliffe Camera was completed. The the occupation. reduction of 26.6% in total energy use, project saw the historic and often engraved
39 STAFF TALENT
40 Human Resources and Staff Development The section also piloted the implementation Librarianship is a complex profession of the University’s online recruitment job involving a variety of specialist skills, and application process. it is important to support the staff and For the first time Health and Safety develop their competencies, especially committees received progress reports in a time of radical change of the kind from project managers – an essential experienced over the year in review. The development in the light of the impact Human Resources section implemented which the major projects had on the a career-coaching programme and year’s activities. In addition, a new online launched information on the staff intranet display screen equipment assessment covering skills profiles, career paths, CILIP programme was implemented in a number chartership, identification of management of departments, allowing more efficient, and leadership potential, guidance for consistent and timely assessments. managers on nurturing staff through career In all, Staff Development provided 226 ©Copyright Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford paths and guidance on skills planning. events with a total attendance of 2,729. 57 Said Business School All staff whose roles were coming to staff development funding applications for an end as the New Bodleian and its book courses and conferences were approved, 17 service closed were successfully redeployed. of which were at overseas venues.
Selected Staff Publications Fanous, Samuel and Vincent Gillespie (Editors) Loureiro-Koechlin, Cecilia (2010), ‘Harvesting and Tomkins, David, with Ashley Jackson (2011), (2011), Cambridge Companion to Medieval Mysticism aggregation of research activity data’, SCONUL Illustrating Empire: A visual history of British (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Foc us, 50, 71–75, http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/ imperialism (Oxford: Bodleian Library) http://ora. Fanous, Samuel, with Roger Ellis (2011), ‘1349–1412: uuid:01ab6a65-44d0-4131-9dec-59256923aa6f ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ac0b2239-7b38-4a8e-a3c5- Texts’, in Cambridge Companion to Medieval Mystics Ovenden, Richard, with Matthew G. Kirschenbaum b62b828c04d8 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). and Gabriela Redwine, with research assistance Tomkins, David, with Ashley Jackson (2011), ‘Images Heaney, Michael (2010), ‘Academic intellectual from Rachel Donahue (2010), Digital Forensics and of Empire’, BBC History Magazine, 12 (7), 50–54, property rights in current practice’, Oxford Born-Digital Content in Cultural Heritage Collections, http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:695445af-8d75- M agazine, (303), 5–8, http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/ (Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and 425a-9409-dd4b05644d45 uuid:42ea5c43-bc7c-48a7-8abf-82f5168a49a9 Information Resources) (CLIR publication; no. 149) Yang, Erica, with Brian Matthews and Michael Wilson Heaney, Michael (2011), ‘Catching leopards in the Rumsey, Sally; Cecilia Loureiro-Koechlin and (2011), ‘Enhancing the Core Scientific Metadata library; or, of panthers and posterity’, Performance Anne Bowtell (2010), BRII (Building the Research Model to incorporate derived data’, (submitted to Measurement and Metrics, 12 (2), 118–121, http://ora. Information Infrastructure) Project: Final Report. Future Generation Computer Systems Journal) http:// ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1db26673-d8fa-48ff-beab- http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cf3c8d23-274c- ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:24226a39-a045-4c7e- 37db67b5857e 4c0b-bfd4-a99c60a1b9b3 8e54-4f18c5d87ed8
41 Staff changes retiring after 33 years, latterly as Head of Margaret Robb retired as Head of Social Senior staff joining during the year included Resource Description; Anne Flavell after 32 Science Libraries after a varied 22-year career David Bartlett, James Francis, Jill Gravestock years in Cataloguing and Nigel James after which began in the then Libraries Automation and Abraham Hauer in the Systems the same period as a stalwart of the Map Service, and Dana Josephson retired from his and E-Resource Service, while Christine Room; Michael Athanson was appointed post with responsibility for exhibitions. Madsen, who joined the section in 2009, Deputy Map Librarian and Geo-spatial JoAnne Sparks, Assistant Director, was appointed R&D Project Manager. Janet Data Specialist in his place. Simon Lawson Research and Learning Services, left at the Phillips was appointed to Publications, Dan retired from the Indian Institute Library end of 2010 to take up a post as Director Q to Communications, Arthur Green to after 29 years and Roger Mills from his post of Information Services for the Scholarly Conservation & Collection Care and Alasdair as Bio-Sciences Librarian, after 29 years Information and Research portfolio at Watson to Special Collections as curator for as the distinguished custodian of the Plant Griffith University. Arabic and Persian collections in succession Sciences Library. Amanda Peters retired as Other staff retiring after long service to Colin Wakefield, who retired after 42 Librarian-in-Charge of the Taylor Institution in the Libraries included Carole Menzies, years’ distinguished service in that post. Library after 26 years’ service, starting in the the longest-serving employee, after 45 Other senior staff to leave were Susan Miles, Foreign Accessions section of the Bodleian. years first in the Slavonic Reading Room of the Bodleian and for the last five years in the Taylor-Bodleian Slavonic and Modern Greek Library; Mary Rees from the Map Room, Angeline Tack from Conservation & Collection Care, Jane Skinner from Reader Services, Penny Roberts from the Radcliffe Science Library, Alistair Fraser from Reader Services and Roger Shilcock from the Sackler Library, though he will be better Julian Roberts known to many from his long service in the (centre) with Taylor Modern Languages Faculty Library. Bodley’s Librarian Robert Shackleton Staff in the Libraries were saddened to (left) and Assistant learn of the death in November 2010 of Librarian Michael Turner (right) Julian Roberts, Keeper of Printed Books opening one of the from 1974 and Deputy Librarian from 1986 22 tons of boxes containing the until his retirement in 1997. The obituary Harding Collection notice in The Times (17 November 2010) which had just noted ‘his erudition, his enthusiasm and his arrived from Chicago in January 1975. intellectual generosity to others’.
42 43 LEADERSHIP
44 Curators Catriona Cannon (Assistant Director, year savings exercise which is intended to The Curators of the University Libraries Collections and Resource Description) reduce costs by £1.78 million overall (8.4%) provided unflagging support throughout was designated Associate Director, with within the Libraries. the year. While the continuing progress additional responsibility for Conservation When the costs of the major projects such on the various major capital projects was & Collection Care and for the Book Storage as barcoding, bookmoving and ingest to welcomed, Curators expressed their concern Facility, as well as for the Inventory Control the Book Storage Facility are included, the at the continuing and increasing pressure on and Book Moves projects. Laura How, total sum that passed through the Libraries’ the materials budget, whether this was as a Head of Administration and Finance, took accounts during the year was £45 million. result of overall budget reductions required on additional responsibility for Estates £8.79 million was spent on Library by the University, or rising prices. Their and for Facilities Management. A new materials during the year, with just under contributions to consideration of the costs post of Associate Director, Digital Library £3 million of this being funded by trust of electronic journals and the Libraries’ Programmes and Information Technologies, fund and donation income. The University- relations with, and support of, college was created to take responsibility for funded library materials budget was £5.55 libraries were invaluable. They provided a the Systems and Electronic Resources million; expenditure was on target with the much needed end-user perspective on the Service, renamed Bodleian Digital Library budget. The rising cost of journals continued complexities of the introduction of legal Systems and Services. Crucial to the to be a matter of significant concern. deposit for electronic materials, which was successful prosecution of the interlinked In 2010–11 nearly £420,000 in research the subject of a consultation at the end of major projects was the creation in March funding was awarded to the Systems and 2010. 2010 of the Bod Squad, at which all the E-Research Service, and the department project leaders and key staff met weekly to participated in projects that brought in over Library Management exchange information, report on progress £2.85 million to the University. Upon the departure of JoAnne Sparks, and identify the tasks for the coming Assistant Director, Research and Learning week, at the same time flagging risks and Development Services, the opportunity was taken to problems for resolution. The 2010/11 financial year resulted in new review senior management roles; a new gifts and pledges to the Campaign for structure was put in place and was in the Finance the University of Oxford for the Bodleian course of being implemented at the end of The Libraries’ regular budget for the totalling £6,850,778 from philanthropic the year. Richard Ovenden was designated year was £36.66 million, and expenditure sources. Fundraising for the Weston Library Deputy Librarian, with responsibility matched the budget (excluding allowable reached £66 million. The $3 million donation for Special Collections, most of the additional expenditure of £166,000 on by Charles and George David in memory departments formerly under Research and staff departures under the Oxford Mobility of Charles Wendell David, naming the New Learning Services, and a new ‘Enterprise Incentive Scheme). This figure included Bodleian ‘penthouse’ reading room in his Units’ department subsuming those £573,000 of savings required by the honour, has been noted already in this parts of the Libraries engaged in trading. University, being the first year of a three- report. A gift of £1 million was pledged by Dr
45 An innovation during the year was the first Duke Humfrey’s Night, at which guests were invited by Friends of the Bodleian to support the acquisition or conservation of a number of recent or older acquisitions, on display in Duke Humfrey’s Library, by pledges large and small. The event succeeded well beyond expectations, raising over £80,000, and will be repeated in coming years.
Collaboration Libraries cannot stand in magnificent isolation but prosper from their engagement with both individual scholars and with institutional partners. The joint acquisition of the Kafka letters with Architect’s impression of the Charles Wendell David Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach has Reading Room in the Weston Library already been noted. In addition the Bodleian Libraries were delighted to announce a new Lee Seng Tee to name an exhibition gallery future of this important post. Dr Chung’s partnership with the Biblioteca Apostolica in the Weston Library, and gifts to support gift also offers support for the digitization Vaticana (BAV) in a project to share the staff and readers’ tearoom were received of some of the Chinese collections at the library skills and promote research. The from the Headley Trust and the Tedworth Bodleian. Funding was also received for the partnership, to be managed by the Centre Charitable Trust. cataloguing of the Chinese pre-modern for the Study of the Book at the Bodleian, Funds to endow the Alfred Brendel Curator collection (£262,000) from the Tan Chin Tuan will see both libraries working together to of Music were secured. The announcement Foundation. pool their expertise and resources, with the was made at a celebration concert in the The Bodleian was able to make several aim of promoting understanding of their fifteenth century Divinity School at which significant acquisitions through the support outstanding collections of early books and Alfred Brendel read his poetry and his son, of a number of donors including the manuscripts. Academics and library curators Adrian Brendel, gave a cello recital. National Heritage Memorial Fund, enabling will exchange annual visits to share research A generous donation was made by Chinese the acquisition of the archive of Edward and professional skills in the study of early philanthropist Dr Chung Hon Dakto endow Heath, Kafka’s Letters to Ottla Archive, and books and manuscripts. Collaboration the position of the Chinese Studies Librarian Jane Austen’s unfinished manuscript, The on projects promoting access to library at the Bodleian, therefore securing the Watsons. materials, particularly digitization, will be
46 encouraged. The details of the agreement The Libraries also contributed to the UK Libraries’ data repository Databank to serve were still being finalized at the end of the Research Reserve of collaborative holdings the ‘long tail’ of research datasets of small year. of lesser used material by UK research to moderate size. In collaboration with 25 other research libraries: the English Faculty Library made a The Libraries also worked on IMPAcT libraries from 11 countries, work began substantial contribution of 30 older journals, (http://impact.orient.ox.ac.uk/ ), a five- to expose the Libraries’ public domain all duplicates of Bodleian Library holdings. year ERC-funded project with the Oriental digitized content via Europeana (http:// Many initiatives involved collaboration Institute which will make accessible www.europeana.eu/) – this will include with other University departments. thirteenth- to sixteenth-century Islamic several hundred thousand digital images, The Medieval Libraries of Great Britain intellectual history, and provided specialist and metadata for all the items scanned (MLGB3) project ( http://www.history. advice on metadata and long-term digital under the Google Books agreement. ox.ac.uk/research/projects/MLGB3.htm) preservation to the EIDCSR (http://eidcsr. The Libraries continued to contribute was completed successfully in collaboration oucs.ox.ac.uk/) and Sudamih (http:// catalogue records to the COPAC catalogue with the History Faculty and awarded a sudamih.oucs.ox.ac.uk/) research data of UK research libraries as well as the OCLC four-year continuation grant by the Mellon management projects which were managed Worldcat database. The Bodleian Japanese Foundation. The project aims to bring by Oxford University Computing Services Library contributed to the development together complementary fragments of the (OUCS). A further collaboration with OUCS of the UK Japanese Union Catalogue remains of medieval British libraries and was the development of series of hands- (consisting of 237,000 records from 12 catalogues into a central online resource. on workshops for all university research libraries in Britain) and the European Union The Libraries were a partner in the students under the ‘Research Skills Toolkit’ Catalogue of Japanese Books (consisting of successful bid for the JISC-funded Dataflow rubric. The workshops will be trialled in over 413,000 records for 30 libraries in eight project (http://www.dataflow.ox.ac.uk/) October 2011 before roll-out in 2012. countries). Librarian Izumi Tytler has been which will be carried out in collaboration heavily involved in the projects, sharing her with Dr David Shotton and his team in Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach skills with colleagues nationwide. Zoology. It will include the development The libraries contributed to the Pirus2 of virtualized cloud-based research project (http://www.cranfieldlibrary. management services building on the cranfield.ac.uk/pirus2/tiki-index. php), working with MIMAS, Cranfield, COUNTER, OUP and others to specify standards, protocols, an infrastructure and an economic model for the recording, reporting and consolidation of online usage of individual articles hosted by repositories, publishers and other entities.
47 2010–11 2009–10 Notes SPACE Total gross floor area (in square metres) 90,159 64,521 Opening of the Book Storage Facility
INFORMATION RESOURCE PROVISION FACTS AND Total catalogued book stock 11,136,414 9,132,794 Barcoding has increased the recorded stock Number of additions to stock in the categories 161,352 110,195 Recovery from reduced legal FIGURES listed in the stock count deposit receipts 2009–10 Number of electronic books purchased 454,295 421,626 Number of serial titles purchased in electronic 13,375 9,872 form only Number of electronic databases purchased 461 438
LIBRARY USE – INFORMATION RESOURCES Total loans 1,817,898 1,902,510 Full-text article requests 6,994,939 6,805,269 Requests for electronic books 1,803,025 966,298 Database searches 6,009,986 5,115,342
LIBRARY USE – OTHER SERVICES Number of photocopies made 1,925,132 2,993,661 Number of sheets printed on computers in 1,464,817 670,767 libraries Number of sheets scanned by users 1,273,678 new service
LIBRARY STAFF (FTE) 556.54 562.07
LIBRARY EXPENDITURE £ £ Staff expenditure 22,754,975 20,150,024 Information provision expenditure 8,586,923 6,863,433 Other expenditure 13,350,392 10,149,459 Total gross library expenditure 44,692,290 37,162,916
LIBRARY INCOME Block grant 30,223,024 25,450,423 Other income – internal 619,347 645,267 Other income – external 13,682,929 8,510,301 Total income 44,525,300 34,605,991
48 Bodleian Libraries, Broad Street, Oxford ox1 3bg. Telephone 01865 277000 [email protected] www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk Produced by Communications, Bodleian Libraries