How do I find what I need?
Library catalogues and electronic resources
How can I find out which books are held in your library?
Please try Oxford University's new resource discovery tool, Search Oxford Libraries Online (SOLO).
Our online union catalogue, OLIS, is available to all at: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/olis/ . Guidance in the use of the catalogue and the stack request system (University and libraries' members only) is available via links on the same webpage.
I have the found the title of the book I want on OLIS, but don’t know where it is.
Please consult this full list of library locations used on OLIS.
Please note that it is likely that you will not be able to access many of the libraries given in this list. Basic admissions policies are given on each library’s information page.
I have heard that most of your books are kept in warehouses, and have to be ordered. How can I tell the difference between books already in the libraries and those in these warehouses?
Only about 20% of the books of the Bodleian Libraries are available on open access in the libraries themselves ("open shelf books”). The remainder are kept in a series of closed access warehouses or stores called the Bookstack (“stack books”). The open shelf books are the ones our expert librarians believe will be most helpful to our readers. Essentially all copies of books listed on OLIS should be regarded as “open shelf” unless specifically marked as stack books, with a location code such as Bookstack, Stack, Nuneham, or Offsite.
I need to use the Bodleian Libraries and intend to apply for membership. Will all the items I need be available for me to consult when I arrive?
Please remember that over 80% of our material is held in our closed access stack areas, including all manuscript material, and rare and early printed books. Material cannot be retrieved from the stacks at short notice or at weekends. Some items will take up to three working days to fetch, as they are held in warehouses outside Oxfordshire.
Please contact us via Ask an Oxford Librarian, or by using reader.services@bodleian.ox.ac.uk, at least four working days before your visit to the Bodleian Libraries, to request up to six advance orders. Please send advance orders for manuscript items (and any associated printed material, up to a maximum of six orders) to Ask an Oxford Librarian or to enquiries.sc@bodleian.ox.ac.uk .
To make the most of membership of our libraries, we suggest that on arrival in Oxford, new readers ask staff in the library to demonstrate the catalogue and stack request system. If you intend to use the central Bodleian, please ask at the Bodleian Main Enquiry Desk, in the Lower Reading Room of the Old Bodleian Library (see map). We also provide Making the Most of the Bodleian Library and Making the Most of the Radcliffe Science Library sessions, especially for our new readers.
I am trying to order a journal part using OLIS, but I cannot specify the part I want.
The process for ordering specific journal parts is a bit more complicated than that for monographs. The OLIS webpages give outlines of the process for both the web version of OLIS and for the telnet version of OLIS.
The two things to keep in mind are to select the correct shelfmark for the journal (so if you need a part from 1979, you would place the request on the shelfmark for the run for 1963-2000, not 2001-2005); and always choose the Unlisted Part option, if it is on the bottom left of that screen that appears after you have entered your password.
I am trying to make a stack request, but I don’t know what my password is.
Your default password is your date of birth, in the following format:
• the two numbers of the day
• the first three letters of the month
• the full year
So if you were born on 8th August 1975, your password would be 08aug1975. Please note that it is the spacing, not the capitalisation, which is significant. When you type your password into the Telnet version of OLIS, nothing will show on the screen. Just type in the password, and then press <return>.
If your date of birth does not work, you may try using your barcode number as your password.
If you have tried both these alternatives, and are still having problems, please Ask an Oxford Librarian.
I am trying to access an electronic journal, but I am being asked for a login and password (I am within the Oxford University network). How can I see the article I need?
Please look the journal up using the Oxford University e-Journals service.
This will indicate whether Oxford subscribes to the particular issue you need to consult. If Oxford does subscribe to the issue, but you are still having problems, please inform our e-Journals helpdesk:
eresources@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
How can I access electronic resources from outside the library and the Oxford University network?
Current members of the University (blue card holders) may access most resources using their University Single Sign On (SSO) account, or by registering with the Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. More details are given at the OULS remote access page.
Members of the Bodleian Libraries (holders of other colour cards) may access most resources when in the libraries, but not remotely, due to licensing restrictions.