The Vere Harmsworth Library houses the University's principal research collection relating to the history of the United States. The library has comprehensive collections relating to US history, spanning largely from the earliest colonial period to contemporary history. The collections of 100,000+ volumes of printed materials are impressive by both European and American standards, thanks to the long history of legal deposit and active purchasing over many decades. The library has an excellent collection of printed materials, including monographs, journals and editions of documents.
There are some law holdings in the VHL, particularly on political and historical aspects. The VHL holds the Bodleian Libraries’ collection of US government publications, except various titles related to US law.
The library also contains extensive collections relating to American politics, international relations, and social and economic aspects of the United States. US literature collections are held in the English Faculty Library.
The VHL is temporarily housing the teaching collections of the Radcliffe Science Library.
Microfilm collections
The library has an extensive collection of primary source materials on microfilm, including historic newspapers and the papers of several major organizations and significant figures. Most microfilms may be found by searching SOLO, or by browsing the subject guide or list of newspapers.
The library has three microfilm readers available, including one that will scan images to a PC. Find out more information about using the microfilm collections.
New books
To recommend books for purchase, please email the library or use the Bodleian Libraries recommend a resource form. We publish a list of new books received in the library each month on LibraryThing.
