Books, journals and databases

SOLO

You can use SOLO to search physical items and electronic resources available from the University's libraries. The catalogue shows information on where to find printed books and journals on library shelves, and links to access e-books, journal articles and databases. Learn more about using SOLO.

If an item isn't available in an Oxford library, you can request it through our inter-library requests service. This service is free to Oxford University members and NHS staff.

Access to e-resources

We are required to limit access to subscription e-resources to current members of Oxford University with a Single Sign On (SSO). Find out more about access conditions and how to use online catalogues and resources when you're not connected to a University of Oxford Wi-Fi network.  

To find e-resources available to everyone, use the Open Access filter on the search results page in SOLO.

Read our guide to finding e-resources.

Special collections

Rare books held by Oxford's libraries can be searched through SOLO. Manuscripts, archives and other special collections are not catalogued in SOLO, but are catalogued in other places. Learn more about finding aids and catalogues for special collections.

Books and e-books

Use SOLO to search over 13 million printed items held by Oxford libraries. It will show you where each physical item is located, and your options for access:

  • borrow: if you are a member of the University, you may be able to borrow the item.
  • request: if the item is in offsite storage, order it for use in one of our reading rooms
  • Scan and Deliver: request book chapters or journal articles to be sent to you by email.

You can also access over 1.4 million e-books via SOLO. Read our guide to finding and accessing e-books.  

Our e-book collections are growing all the time. If you can't find a book available as an e-book, we may be able to purchase one. Send us a request through our recommendation form.

Oxford Google Books Project

The University of Oxford partnered with Google to scan the Bodleian Libraries' out-of-copyright holdings. The initial phase of this work was completed in 2009, with several hundred thousand of our books being scanned and made available via Google Books.

Journals and e-journals

Through SOLO, you can locate printed journals in Oxford libraries, and access online articles from over 118,000 e-journal titles. To search for a journal title, use SOLO's journal search.

We have integrated Browzine into SOLO. This new suite of tools improves access to journal article PDFs.

Google Scholar  

You can use Google Scholar to find links to available full-text articles for University of Oxford users. If you are outside the University's network, use the ‘Library’ links settings in the menu to choose ‘University of Oxford – Find it @ Oxford’

Databases

Use SOLO to find and access over 1,700 databases across a broad range of subject areas, or search and browse through Databases A-Z. Databases A-Z also highlights resources currently being trialled.

We are only able to provide access to subscription resources to Oxford University members with a Single Sign On (SSO).

Learn more about finding and accessing data and statistics.