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LGBT+ History Month 2026

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A photograph of the towers of Exeter College and Lincoln College. Both colleges are flying the progress pride flag from their flagpoles.

Exeter and Lincoln College, taken on Turl Street. 

A photograph of the entrance to Hertford College where the classic rainbow pride flag is being flown from the flagpole.

Hertford College, taken from Upper Reading Room. 

February was LGBT+ History Month in the UK, and across the Bodleian we marked the occasion in style. This year’s theme was Science & Innovation, looking at the lives and contributions of past queer pioneers, as well as how science has impacted the LGBT+ community both positively and negatively throughout history. In this post we’ve gone through our libraries’ collections to pull out some key resources on queer history from the shelves.  

LGBT+ History Month is a great opportunity to learn more about queer history and culture, but the learning doesn’t have to stop after four weeks. Visit your local library and check out some of the books we’ve highlighted, or do your own deep dive into the LGBT innovators of the past – after all, who doesn’t love going down a research rabbit hole? You can also visit the official Schools OUT website where they’ve prepared some resources, useful links, and an events calendar to get you started. Finally, we’ve signposted some Oxford events and resources at the end of the post, so keep reading! 

History Faculty Library – Catherine

The trainees in the Old Bod & Rad Cam aren’t responsible for putting together our themed book displays, but our libraries still marked LGBT+ history month with a host of interesting books and e-resources. 

The HFL’s open shelves are well-stocked with books on the history of sexuality and the history of science; finding the overlap between these subjects can be more challenging, but if you look out for them, you’ll find some fascinating stories. This year’s display focused particularly on biographies and studies of LGBT innovators, looking closely at the lesser-known parts of their lives and identities. As well as shining a light on queer historical figures and authors, our display looked at queer communities’ relationships with health and medicine over time. I’ve highlighted a few select works below, but for a full list of books on the display and topical e-books, check out the History Faculty Library blog and pick one out for yourself.  

A copy of 'The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke' by Jeffrey C. Stewart. The cover features a portrait of Alain Locke against a white background - he is an African American man with short cropped hair dressed in a white suit.
A copy of 'Leonardo: the artist and the man' by Serge Bramly. The cover is a sepia-toned drawing of da Vinci's face in profile.
A copy of 'Before AIDS: gay health politics in the 1970s' by Katie Batza. The cover is a pink-and-purple toned photograph of drag queen Nurse Wanda Lust, with an inset of the performer Stephen Jones.

The New Negro: the life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart 

Alain Locke (1885-1954) was a philosopher, author, and academic, best known for being the first African American Rhodes Scholar and for publishing an anthology on race, culture, and politics titled ‘The New Negro’. Locke was an intellectual activist and a strong proponent of racial equality but was not outspoken about his homosexuality in the same manner during his life, viewing it as a point of unique vulnerability. In this biography, Jeffrey C. Stewart provides a full overview of Locke’s experiences as a gay black man at the forefront of an intellectual movement, exploring his personal relationships and his long search for a life partner.  

Leonardo: the artist and the man by Serge Bramly 

Originally published in 1988, this translated biography attempts to reconstruct the mysterious life of one of the most famous innovators of all time. Everyone has heard of Leonardo da Vinci: the original Renaissance Man was a painter, an engineer, an inventor, an anatomist, a theorist, and more. However, a lot of knowledge about his personal life is speculative, second-hand, and subjective, including theories about his sexuality and his alleged trial for sodomy. This book explores Leonardo as an artist, looking at his astonishing scientific career, and as a man, musing on his relationships and his identity.  

Before AIDS: gay health politics in the 1970s by Katie Batza 

Many LGBT studies into the history of medicine focus on HIV/AIDS, and for good reason, but this book looks past that to find another significant story. It explores the well-established ‘self-sufficient gay medical systems’ which existed across America long before AIDS emerged. Born from fears of being outed or having their sexuality pathologised in mainstream institutions, gay health centres provided advocacy, advice, and treatment for queer men. Katie Batza follows these clinics from their foundation to the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, revealing how they helped shape the politics of health and sexuality in modern America.  

Bodleian Old Library – Rebecca

While we didn’t have a dedicated display in the Old Library, there are plenty of hidden gems on our shelves. In-keeping with the theme for the 22nd UK LGBT+ History Month, I’ve picked out some titles from and about LGBT+ scientists and innovators. 

A copy of 'Berlin's Third Sex' by Magnus Hirschfield. The cover features two similar-looking people dressed in conventionally masculine and feminine outfits respectively.

A recent addition to the History New Books Display in the Upper Reading Room is a 2025 re-issue of Magnus Hirschfeld’s ‘Berlin’s Third Sex’. Hirschfeld established the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, the first gay rights organisation and advocacy group, as well as the Institute for Sexual Science. As a doctor, he employed scientific principles in the fight against homophobia and transphobia, even advocating for gender-affirming care. 

Just to the right of the display, in the history of science section, you’ll find ‘The Very Idea of Modern Science: Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle’. Natural philosophers Bacon and Boyle were both instrumental in the development of the scientific method. There’s also evidence to suggest both men were gay, with the latter being one of LGBT+ History Month 2026’s featured historical figures.  

A copy of 'Uncle Tungsten: memories of a chemical boyhood' by Oliver Sacks. The cover features a black and white photo of a middle-aged man and a young boy (presumably Sacks himself).

Oliver Sacks’ (first) autobiography, ‘Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood’, can also be found here. It wasn’t until he published his second autobiography, towards the end of his life, that he spoke openly about being gay. Sacks was a Queen’s College alumnus and neurologist by trade. While perhaps best known for his polarising writings, he nonetheless led a successful medical career and co-founded the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function at the Beth Abraham Hospital. 

Just downstairs, in the Philosophy Room, there are several titles relating to the renowned Judith Butler, author of ‘Gender Trouble’. Their work is certainly innovative, with their impact extending beyond feminist and queer theory into several branches of social science. Most notably, they founded the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs. Butler is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. 

A copy of 'The Sociology of the NHS' by Margaret Stacey. The cover features a pair of surgical tongs holding a length of thread.

And finally, tucked away in the Lower Gladstone Link, you’ll find a 1974 issue of The Sociological Review’s Monograph Series edited by Margaret Stacey. Stacey was a sociologist, lecturer, and researcher. She was particularly active in the field of medical sociology, helping to re-conceptualise it as ‘a sociology of health and illness’. Aged sixty, she and fellow academic Jennifer Lorch became partners. 

Taylor Institution Library – Jules

The Taylor Institution Library (otherwise known as the Taylorian), is the university’s Modern European languages and literatures library. As such, a ‘Science and Innovation’ theme is not particularly in the wheelhouse of our collections! Nevertheless, I did my best to highlight the LGBTQ+ History that is present on our shelves. 

Here are the books I chose: 

  • Strangers : homosexual love in the 19th century 
  • Sophia Parnok : the life and work of Russia’s Sappho / Diana Lewis Burgin 
  • Gendering the Portuguese-speaking world : from the Middle Ages to the present 
  • A little gay history of Wales / Daryl Leeworthy. 
  • Becoming lesbian : a queer history of modern France. 
  • In a queer time and place : transgender bodies, subcultural lives / Judith Halberstam. 
  • Queer roots for the diaspora : ghosts in the family tree / Jarrod Hayes. 
  • Time binds : queer temporalities, queer histories / Elizabeth Freeman. 
  • Polari, the lost language of gay men / Paul Baker. 
  • Courtly and queer : deconstruction, desire, and medieval French literature / Charlie Samuelson. 
The LGBT+ History Month book display at the Taylorian. The shelves are filled with books and surrounded by miniature progress pride flags.

Social Science Library – Summer

Unlike the Taylorian, this year’s theme of ‘Science and Innovation’ paired perfectly with our collections at the Social Science Library. The SSL is well stocked on books around LGBT+ political activism, anthropological and sociological perspectives, and the history of sexuality. For this book display, I drew upon books in the SSL and CSF which highlight the contributions made by LGBT+ scientists, inventors, and innovators across the social science subjects. I also selected material in the collection that reflects how science has sometimes been used to medicalise and pathologise LGBT+ identities, reminding us how we need to continue addressing these issues today. 

The LGBT History Month display at the SSL.

I have included a selection of titles from the SSL book display here, but for a full list check out the Social Science Library blog post on the subject.

Sainsbury Library – Heidi

I really concentrated on the “innovation” part of the title when compiling my display, as it aligns well with the business school’s focus. I aimed to highlight technological developments, innovative ways of thinking, and innovators in their fields, all in relation to LGBTQ+ history. 

The library’s LGBTQ+ Business Resources LibGuide proved an invaluable starting point for exploring the relationship between LGBTQ+ history and the business world. My subsequent research inspired me to divide my display into four groups – Businesses, Memoirs, Technology, and Economics – based on the broad themes I saw within the Sainsbury Library’s collections. 

A full description of the display can be found on my Sainsbury Library Blog post! 

The LGBT+ History Month display at the Sainsbury Library. This is the 'businesses' section, featuring books on organisations and corporations.
The LGBT+ History Month display at the Sainsbury Library. This is the 'memoirs' section, featuring books on innovators and individuals.

Signposting

Every LGBT+ History Month the University of Oxford hosts a flagship lecture, panel, or speaker event. This year’s event, ‘What about queer?’ was a panel discussion on the evolving use of the word ‘queer’ and its significance in academic, political, and cultural contexts. Keep a look out for a summary or recording, which will likely go up sometime in March. In the meantime, have a look at this recording of the 2025 lecture, ‘Losing and Finding Oneself Through Queer Poetry’. 

If you’re looking for more recommended reading, take a look at these nonfiction reading lists prepared by the New York Public Library and Chicago Public Library – or if fiction is more your thing, have a look at these recommendations by Essex County Council and UCL.  

Finally, for more library resources on LGBTQ+ history throughout the year, check out this LibGuide made by a former HFL trainee. There’s information on Oxford researchers working on LGBTQ+ history, guides to databases and archives, and a whole host of material organised by topic, time period, and format. Pick a subject and get reading!

Day in the life of a History Faculty Library trainee

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8:10 

I dash out of the house to get the bus with my housemates, only to find it’s delayed again and there was no need to rush. One thing I’ve learned about Oxford is the buses are always late, except when you need them to be.

8:42  

My workday officially begins! This morning I’m on the reception desk in the RadCam first thing, so I’m responsible for opening the Lower Camera. This mostly involves moving ladders, switching on computers, and making sure any books left over from yesterday are reshelved. Thankfully, everything is still neat and tidy from closing last night, so it’s quite a quick process. 

The Lower Camera, empty and in dim morning lighting. It is a large circular room with bookshelves running along the walls and a central 'island' of bookshelves in the middle.

9:00 

The bells of St Mary’s toll and the library is officially open. Sometimes it takes a while for the library to fill up, but today there’s a line of readers all the way down the path as soon as we open the doors – term is definitely in full swing. 

While on reception you’re responsible for answering enquiries and making sure people can access the library okay. Despite the constant flow of readers, it’s a relatively quiet shift: I help some people having issues with their university cards, direct one reader to Admissions to get a temporary access pass, and help someone looking for their lost property. In between queries, I pick out any lapsed items from the hold shelf and return them on Alma so they can go back to the CSF with the morning delivery. When we started offering offsite loans this year we had to double our holds space, and we’re still running out of room! 

10:30 

My desk shift has ended and it’s time for a little break, so I head to the reader common room to eat my belated breakfast and listen to a podcast. I’ve been enjoying No Such Thing as a Fish recently – I think every librarian needs a mental reserve of fun facts.  

10:50 

Break time is over, so it’s time to head down to the scanning area as I’ve been given fetching duty today. This involves collecting up all the books which are going to be scanned for readers this afternoon. Sometimes the list is quite small, but today it takes me to every reading room in the library! Thankfully, everything is on the shelf where it should be, so I can find it all quickly.  

Having collected everything, I still have a lot of time to spare, so I mark out the requested pages in each book for the person scanning later. This helps me spot that one reader has asked for a chapter which doesn’t exist, so I email them the table of contents to clarify what they’re looking for. Copyright law restricts the amount of any given book we can send to readers, so it’s important to make sure people are getting the sections they actually want.  

12:00 

I’ve opted to take the later lunch slot today, which means I have some free time now. The library has really filled up with readers now and the reshelving trolley is looking quite full, so I decide to do some shelving, which takes me all the way down to the Lower Gladstone Link. Predictably, while I’m there a reader asks for help locating something in the Nicholson sequence (our complicated old shelf system), so I explain how it works and help them find their book.

A row of books on a shelf in the Lower Gladstone Link.
Nicholson books, just waiting to confuse a reader

12:20 

I head upstairs to see if there’s any new books to process, but there’s none waiting for me. I decide to do some relegations instead – my manager has identified some books which can get moved from open shelves to storage, so I edit the item record and package them up to go offsite. The shelves in the HFL are constantly overflowing and we need all the space we can make! 

1:00 

Lunch time! I don’t dare face the tipping rain today, so it’s back to the reader common room with my sandwich and my water bottle. It can get quite packed in there around midday, because it’s the only space in the library where food is allowed, but luckily I’m able to find a seat.  

2:00  

A copy of 'The Love Spell Box' by Gillian Kemp: a colourful red box containing several 'spell cards' and a book of ways to use them.

This afternoon I’m scheduled to help with the book delivery in the Radcliffe Camera. The Old Bodleian and Radcliffe Camera combined get the most offsite requests by far, so we get our daily book deliveries direct from the CSF, and delivery duty involves transferring items from the van to the delivery room to the collection points. I help unload the crates of new books, scan them into Alma, sort them into loanable and self-collect piles, and move them to their appropriate shelves. Then, I collect any items to go back to storage, scan them out, and package them up for when the van comes tomorrow!  The best part about this shift is spotting the different books people have called up – today the highlight is this collection of love spells.  

3:15 

After all that heavy lifting it’s time for another break – the rain has stopped, so I head across the road to Blackwells to have a quick look at what’s new.  

3:35 

To finish off the day I get on with some trainee project work. I’m currently working on improving accessibility for a grey literature collection which was housed in the History of Medicine library before it closed last year. Forty archive boxes of material ended up being sent offsite: my project involves designing a LibGuide to promote the collection, as well as creating a physical handlist for each box. For now, I’m calling up boxes from storage so I can inventory the contents, note any cataloguing errors, and digitise any particularly valuable items. It’s interesting work, especially when the collection throws surprises at you. For instance, the box I’m currently working on is entirely in German… which I can’t read. 

Two small pamphlets written in German. They are a tract on skin diseases and an exhibition catalogue on the history of medicine, respectively.
Some examples of the pamphlets I’m working on at the moment

4:30 

Having finished going through one box quicker than I expected, I put my project away for the time being and start working on this blog post.

5:00 

The evening staff arrive to take over, and it’s time to head home. As usual, I hurry to the bus stop outside the library, and manage to just miss my bus. Like I said, always late except when you need them to be… 

Bones, Bugs, and Books: our foray into museum collections 

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by Catherine Birch

Did you know there’s (part of) a real dodo hidden in an Oxford library? How about the oldest pinned butterfly in the world? Or the first illustrated life cycle of an insect? 

As we’ve said before, one of the great advantages of the traineeship is the training itself. As well as our scheduled sessions we’re encouraged to explore different aspects of library work, and there are loads of great opportunities for shadowing across the university. So, as a few of us wanted to learn more about other GLAM1 careers, we decided to arrange a group visit to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to see what goes on in a museum library. During a rare training-free week, we braved the winter chill to gather at the entrance and meet Danielle, the museum’s lead Librarian and Archivist, for a tour.

An external view of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It is a large Victorian building built in brown stone with a small grassy area in the courtyard.

Our intrepid tour guide took us to the site of the original library to start with, as she gave us a brief overview of the museum’s history. OUMNH was founded in 1860 with the intent to modernise and promote natural philosophy at Oxford. Previously, science faculties had been scattered across different colleges and institutions, usually without suitable teaching and research space.  The museum was designed to house all these departments (and their collections) in one purpose-built location, with a 500-seat lecture theatre, specialised laboratories, and a large library. 

The library in particular was designed as a grand intellectual space unifying art and science, in line with contemporary ideas about natural theology. The interior design was crafted to be educational as well as decorative, and while the layout has been altered significantly over time, parts of the original structure remain. This library wasn’t just for private study: it was used for teaching and hosting events too, and many famous feet trod the boards of the museum. Some actually visited before it was fully opened! The museum library was the site of Wilberforce and Huxley’s famous ‘Great Debate’ on natural selection, held before the collections were even installed. 

Unfortunately, the lack of light and climate controls in this grandiose Victorian building meant it wasn’t the best space for preserving collections. The library was eventually moved to more suitable rooms on the other side of the building, and this space now holds the museum’s sizeable insect collection – the second largest in the country, with an estimated five million specimens! The Hope Entomological Collections (named for their founder F. W. Hope) particularly focus on historic material, and the museum even holds the world’s oldest pinned entomological specimen: a Bath white butterfly from 1702. We also learned about other gems of the collection such as the world’s largest known bee, Charles Darwin’s beetles, and an individual collection of 140,000 flies. These are all stored safely in their cabinets, protected from harsh sunlight and fluctuating temperatures which could damage them long-term. The perils of beautiful old buildings…

These insects aren’t managed by the library or archives staff as they need more specialist care, but they are available for viewing and study by appointment. Apparently, they’re a very popular topic! 

The Old Library. It is a long dark room with a single large window at the far end and a pointed ceiling. Two rows of display drawers and cabinets go all the way down the room.
Sunlight and fresh air is great for living specimens… not so great for preserved ones

Once we’d finished staring at drawers full of bugs, we left this room behind and headed to the new library. The bookstacks hold information on all the collections areas in the museum: zoology, entomology, geology, general natural history, and more! However, one unusual feature of the library is a total lack of plant biology. OUMNH doesn’t cover any botanical science, as they try to avoid significant collections overlaps with other university institutions. They coordinate their collection development with the Botanical Gardens and Herbaria (which hold all the university’s plant specimens and literature) and the Radcliffe Science Library (Oxford’s main science library), although a lot of their new material is donated rather than actively sought out. Danielle explained that this means a lot of the collection is highly specific and niche material produced by subject experts. The library also contains a lot of small-scale periodicals and amateur publications – in some cases, it holds the only publicly available copy of an item! While a lot of this content isn’t in high demand, it’s incredibly useful for in-depth research, and people travel from all over to consult the collections.  

The upstairs shelves in the new library, filled with books and grey archive boxes.
More shelves downstairs in the new library, broadly identical to the upper level.

After this overview we learned about some of the ongoing projects within the library – mostly to do with organising the collection. As previously mentioned, the museum was originally designed to host all the non-medical sciences in one space. As each of these faculties gradually moved out, they left behind some of their books and papers, which got quietly absorbed into the wider library. While this was useful for expanding the collection, most of these items weren’t re-labelled or updated. This means the library now has a huge variety of shelfmarks and classification systems to contend with, which can make finding certain things a real challenge if you don’t know where to look! The library is in the process of a massive stock inventory and re-classification process to try and alleviate the issue but given the scale of the collection, it’s definitely going to take a while. Thankfully, the collection is fully catalogued, so all these items are traceable online. As trainees, it’s always interesting to see how other libraries manage their collections and what projects get prioritised; there’s always a million jobs to be done in a library, and never the time to do them all… 

A metal, dome-shaped helmet with a brim. The letters OUM are painted on the front. It rests on top of a display cabinet containing a plaster cast of a human face).

After that, we moved into the next room to see the archive. Anything which isn’t a book or a specimen goes here, including historical photographs, research notes, old journals, and other relevant ephemera, as well as all the artwork on display in the galleries. If a specimen is in the museum, accompanying field notes are almost certainly held in the archive. The museum also has a smaller institutional archive for important documents and items related to the building’s history. We saw a photo of the museum when it opened, and a picture of the original bird display which featured the remains of an actual Dodo! These remains are still held within the collection (although not on public display), making it the only place in the world to still have a soft tissue Dodo specimen. The nature of archives means that all these items are rare or unique, and the collection is full of unusual gems like a (mildly creepy) cast of a face and an old professor’s shoes.

As a rule, every archive does have at least one item that nobody can quite explain, and this one was no different: Danielle showed us this unidentified old helmet which was allegedly pulled out of a taxidermized camel’s hump! 

Now it was time for the really fun part: the treasures of the collection. Every librarian loves to talk about their favourite books, and we loved listening to it! We got to look through a lot of really interesting items, like a handwritten letter from Charles Darwin, the engraved trowel used to lay the museum’s foundations, a handmade eighteenth-century book of botanical and entomological art (left), and a book of butterflies which helped inform Linnaeas’ taxonomy (right).

An example page of entomological art, featuring a selection of different species of spider in a tree.
A page from 'the History of Four Footed Beasts and Serpents', containing an illustration of a unicorn and explanatory text.
A page from 'Jones Icones', featuring two illustrations of a particular species of butterfly.
Not your average library books!

My personal favourite was the first book on natural history written in English: ‘The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents’ (centre).

Produced in London in 1658, the author Edward Topsell had actually never left England, and was working mostly from the descriptions of other naturalists. This meant he had never seen most of the animals he was drawing and describing… and it shows. The book features cats and hedgehogs alongside unicorns and lamiae, each with pages of detailed description. While the animals might not all be real, and some of the drawings are certainly questionable, the fact it’s written in English is historically significant, and it represents an admirable effort to compile and share scientific information.  

Another particularly interesting find was the first nationwide geological map of Britain (or any country, actually). The map was produced by William ‘Strata’ Smith, a canal surveyor looking to make some extra money. Smith began noticing consistencies in the strata he saw while working: they were always arranged in a predictable pattern, and usually followed the chronological succession of fossil groups. In search of a way to represent his findings, he developed a detailed geological map of the area around Bath, which he later extrapolated into a map of the entirety of England and part of Scotland. He didn’t find much success or fame during his lifetime unfortunately, but he’s now recognised as the father of English geology and his work is still famous today. Fun fact: he produced each map individually and numbered them, so you can identify where he corrected his own work over time if you look through them in order. 

Having seen all there was to see, we said our goodbyes and left, though not without a last glance at the galleries and a few photos of our favourite items. After all, is it even a natural history museum if you don’t see a dinosaur?  

A large model of a dinosaur skeleton from the museum's main display gallery.
Two different dinosaur skeletons in the centre of the museum's main display gallery.

The real stars of the show

Oxford Museum of Natural History is a fascinating place, with over 150 years’ worth of collections and a rich institutional history. If you want to learn more about the items mentioned in this blog post, why not see them for yourself! The library covers a huge range of subjects, and the entire collection is searchable via the university catalogue and the museum website, with access open to anyone by appointment.  

  1. Gardens/Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums ↩︎

Wrapping up for Christmas

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The evenings are getting quieter, the libraries are getting chillier, and the returns trolleys are piled high with books… it must be the end of Michaelmas term! It’s been an eventful eight weeks across the libraries: we’ve marked Black History Month and Disability History Month, contributed to Green Libraries Week, put on exhibitions about great academics and gothic artists, and even found a little extra time to do some library tours. The work doesn’t stop just because the students have gone home, and we’ve got plenty to do over the holidays, but the end of term is a chance to breathe out and get ready for the new year. In the meantime, here’s a quick blog update looking back at our first few months on the job.  

A stack of green books arranged to look like a christmas tree and decorated with paper 'baubles'.
The SSL winter wellbeing book display, decorated with paper christmas trees and stars.
A stack of brown books arranged and decorated to look like a reindeer's face.

Some very crafty book displays made by Summer! (Social Science Library)

This term has gone as quickly as the daylight hours, but it’s been great to watch the business school get steadily more festive – especially after the fairy lights were strung up outside the library window! I’ve had so many enjoyable moments over the past eight weeks: learning the curious (and sometimes frustrating) world of Leganto with Anna (our Collections & Instructional Materials Assistant), getting involved with the Oxford Futures Library archives, and even running a crochet workshop with Cui (our Circulation & Customer Service Librarian) – she’s already made some beautiful bookmarks despite only taking up crochet this term! I’ve also greatly appreciated the variety of work I’ve been able to do with the Rare Books team at the Weston Library during my time there this month. All in all, this term has encouraged me to approach the rest of the traineeship with confidence, and I’m excited to keep developing my skills and shaping my trainee project as we head into the new year. 

Heidi Cruft, Sainsbury Library 

A lot has happened in the Art library this term- I’ve scanned a lot of book chapters, issued and returned a lot of material, packaged a lot of interlibrary loans, filled and emptied a lot of crates, helped (at least I hope) a lot of readers- and endured a few broken lifts, exploding radiators and technical issues along the way. It’s been really satisfying to slowly get the hang of more things and better understand the scale of things going on to keep a library running- it’s not just stamping books! I’ve really enjoyed the training sessions this term- especially the visit to the special collections at the Weston- and loved spending a full week at the Taylor Institution. Next term I plan to get stuck into my trainee project in sorting out the chaotic Haverfield room, and helping the subject librarians with some collections management. 

Olly Marshall, Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library 

Term passed in the blink of an eye, but it’s been a lot of fun. The HFL is a really interesting place to work because there’s always something going on: from VIP events to student inductions to spontaneous explosions (not a joke!), this job definitely keeps you on your toes. I’ve reviewed reading lists, done inventory checks, sent damaged items off for repair, hunted for missing books, and kept track of the infinite spreadsheets required for all those tasks. I’m really enjoying getting to work behind the scenes and keep things operating smoothly for readers, and I appreciate the amount of work that goes into running an academic library even more now. While it’s hard to pick out just one thing, a highlight of my term has been getting started on my very collections-focused trainee project, and I’m looking forward to delving deeper into archives and special collections next term. For now, though, I need a few calm weeks to take advantage of the millions of books just waiting to be read (the real perk of the job). Catherine Birch, History Faculty Library 

A marble bust of Isaac Newton wearing a pair of reindeer antlers.
Isaac Newton is feeling festive
(Old Bodleian)

A marble bust of Voltaire decorated with reindeer antlers and a tinsel scarf.
Voltaire wanted to dress up too! (Taylor Institution)

Michaelmas has gone by so quickly! This term has been a lot of desk time, displays, photography, and using the mysterious trainee power to arrange meetings with interesting people within the Bodleian. I’ve made themed displays (I especially loved my Halloween one), started photographing all the rooms in the Taylorian for a social media bank, and helped readers find many a book. The most interesting training for me this term has been the visits to the Weston to see the rare books and conservation work, and to CSF (the Bodleian Offsite Storage facility). I’ve made a lot of headway on my project, which involves designing a creative public outreach event for the Strachan collection of Livres d’Artiste / Artist’s Books. I’ve sent a lot of emails to all sorts of people, who have been more than happy to help me with my idea. My favourite days are the ones I can sit in the archives room and go through the collection while listening to music. In Hilary term, I’m looking forward to the training with the Centre for the Study of the Book, where we’ll learn about printing methods, and get to use a hand-operated printing press! Jules McGee-Russell (they/them), Taylor Institution Library 

 

It’s been a busy Michaelmas term here at the SSL. Going from the whirlwind of over 100 library tours for new students in 0/1st week to emptying out after 8th week, the library almost feels eerily quiet without the readers. But just because most students have gone, does not mean the workroom has got any quieter – from an influx of new reading lists to review and books to process, to hunting for missing books and working on my two projects – there’s been plenty to keep me busy! The SSL has received 2 donations that make up the bulk of my project work – 40 boxes of working papers from the University of Bradford and 70 shelves of books from a single donor. I now have endless hours of work transcribing book spines and embellishing Alma catalogue records to keep me busy when the rest of the library gets too quiet! Along with enjoying getting stuck into my project work, one of my highlights this term has been working on the new book displays – from Black History and Disability History months to Bonfire Night and Winter Wellbeing, it’s been great fun researching interesting and unusual books in the CSF that I can add to my displays. I’m looking forward to the training sessions of next term, particularly the one around student wellbeing initiatives in the libraries, and I’m sure Hilary term will go by as quickly as Michaelmas did!

Summer Mainstone-Cotton, Social Science Library 

Make Libraries Great Again – ‘The Librarians’ (2025) and the fight against book bans  

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by Catherine Birch, Jules McGee-Russell, and Summer Mainstone-Cotton 

On 24th September, the Weston Library hosted a screening of The Librarians, a new documentary about banned books, censorship, and free speech in libraries across the USA. The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, but this was only its second screening in the UK, and the audience was packed with librarians, readers, and film buffs alike. Naturally, a few trainees decided that an entire day spent working in a library wasn’t enough, so we decided to go along that evening too. 

The Weston was steadily filling up with people as we arrived, and there was a lively atmosphere full of conversation and laughter throughout the building. We mingled, chatted, networked, and partook in the drinks and nibbles on offer. However, we didn’t have long to mill around, as seats were being taken fast, and it was time for the event to begin.  

The welcome reception in Blackwell Hall @cyrusoxford

Before the film screening, there was a small ceremony held by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate the Bodleian’s own Richard Ovenden. Richard was recently awarded the RSL’s Benson Medal for outstanding services to literature – in this case, his significant career as a librarian, and his roles leading organisations like the Digital Preservation Coalition and the university’s Gardens, Libraries, and Museums group. On top of this, he also recently wrote a book on the history of book burnings – Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack – which makes a brief cameo in The Librarians! The award was certainly well-deserved, and the audience were enthusiastic with cheers and applause. After a short speech and some votes of thanks, he handed over to the director, Kim A. Synder, for a short introduction to the film. From there, all that was left to do was dim the lights, set the stage, and start the screening.  

Richard Ovenden accepting the Benson Medal
& his acceptance speech @cyrusoxford

The film itself was a compelling look at the recent wave of protests against school libraries in the United States. For those unaware: in 2021, public school superintendents across Texas were sent a list of 850 books challenged for potentially causing “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or…psychological distress” to schoolchildren.1 The list was compiled by state representative Matt Krause and predominantly included books which featured sex education, black history, and LGBTQ+ characters; many were also simply written by LGBTQ+ or non-white authors.2 School districts in other parts of the country began similar investigations, and soon libraries throughout the US were facing book bans. Parents began calling for the removal of material that they deemed sexually explicit or inappropriate for children, schools pulled up to hundreds of books from their shelves out of caution, and librarians who protested this were silenced.3 The Librarians follows the people who pushed back against these investigations, exploring their stories and their struggles.    

The film began in Texas but didn’t stop there, travelling to Florida, New Jersey, and other states impacted by book bans. It exposed how school librarians were subjected to bullying, victimisation, and even unemployment for questioning these book bans, and how those who protested more vocally received targeted online harassment and threats of physical violence. The film featured interviews with these librarians, as well as the students and school board members directly impacted by these bans. It also examined the role of politicians, pressure groups, and parents in this ongoing struggle, combining original documentary footage with social media content and relevant news stories for a more complete view of the situation. Interspersed throughout were clips from The Twilight Zone, Fahrenheit 451 (1966), and Storm Centre (1956), as well as archival footage of Nazi book burnings and Joseph McCarthy speeches. Time and again the film returned to these examples of historical censorship to emphasise the necessity of information, the dangers of book bans, and the inalienable right to freedom of expression. It was a moving watch, balancing humour and emotion with a poignant lasting message about the importance of libraries and literature to society. 

The crowd applauding Julie Miller and Amanda Jones
& a close up on the discussion panel @cyrusoxford

After the screening, a panel sat down to discuss the film and take questions from the audience. As well as the director and producers, it featured Dame Mary Beard, Richard Ovenden, and two of the librarians who featured most prominently within the documentary: Julie Miller and Amanda Jones. Discussion quickly turned to the Bodleian’s own experiences with book bans over the centuries, as Richard explained how the original Bodley’s Librarian specifically collected books denounced by religious authorities, preserving this information against censorship or wilful destruction. However, as Dame Mary then pointed out, it is important not to just rest on this legacy. She advised the librarians present to be conscious of how we treat ideas or books that we don’t personally endorse, reminding us that to fight against censorship we must fight for all speech to be free. As the panel reflected on the position of foreign academic librarians in this struggle, they returned to a central motif of the film – that silence is compliance when faced with systematic suppression. 

The panel also discussed how these attacks on librarians have progressed since the film was finished in late 2024: perhaps most notably, in May 2025, the President unceremoniously fired the fourteenth Librarian of Congress.4 Carla Hayden, both the first woman and first African American to hold this post, was removed on the grounds that she had promoted DEI and placed “inappropriate books for children” in the library.5 This directly echoes the sentiments expressed about school librarians within the documentary, emphasising the increasing scope and scale of this crisis. Julie and Amanda took this opportunity to speak about their continued activism within their local communities and beyond, while the producers explained their plans to publicise the film further and gain international support for the librarians affected by these repressive campaigns. Discussion ended shortly after this, but not without a final round of applause for the librarians, politicians, and everyone behind the film continuing to fight to speak freely and be heard. 

Some familiar faces deep in conversation @cyrusoxford

After all that talking, it was finally time for… more talking! There was a short drinks reception in Blackwell Hall following the screening, which gave us the opportunity to chat with other library staff and visitors who’d come to the viewing. The room really came alive, and the hall was buzzing with noise as the film gave everyone a lot to talk about. We had some interesting conversations about public services, the accessibility of our libraries, and our responsibilities in this struggle as new professionals. We also got the chance to tell some other attendees about our traineeships, and found time to catch up with some former trainees! All-in-all, a great end to the night.  

The Librarians is an ambitious project – creating a film about a rapidly developing political storm and screening it internationally is no easy feat – but it is certainly a worthwhile one. The documentary highlights the cultural role of libraries in the past and present, providing useful insight into the politics of information and the tactics used to undermine it. While many of us had heard about these book bans across the US, we weren’t aware of the scale of the issue or the extent of the harm it was causing to individual librarians, and the film was an eye-opening call to act.  As trainees, we are just entering the world of libraries: this film urges us to work to ensure the libraries are still there for us in future. The Librarians was released in the UK on the 26th of September, with more details of showtimes available here. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer for over a year. If you’re at all interested in libraries and literature, it’s definitely worth a watch. And if our review still hasn’t convinced you, here’s the trailer to speak for itself.  

With thanks to Cyrus Mower (@cyrusoxford) for taking all of the photos included in this blog post 

Notes:

  1. Krause’s letter to school superintendents ↩︎
  2. Texas lawmaker Matt Krause targets 850 books he says could make students uneasy – NPR ↩︎
  3. District’s list of purged school library books circulates around Tennessee – Chalkbeat ↩︎
  4. Trump fires Librarian of Congress, continuing to shape cultural institutions – NPR ↩︎
  5. White House reveals why Trump fired Librarian of Congress as Democrats call her ouster a ‘disgrace’ – The Independent ↩︎

Welcome from the Trainees of 2025!  

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Hello again, loyal readers, and welcome to part two of our introduction to the 2025/26 Graduate Trainees. This time, the spotlight is on the Business, Law, and Social Sciences libraries, as well as this year’s College trainees.

Noughth week was busy! We’ve been running induction tours, putting up Black History Month displays, visiting the newly opened Schwarzman Humanities Centre, and somehow keeping our libraries running smoothly. The city is covered in falling leaves (romantic, autumnal, stunning) and the beginnings of the expected wet weather (slippery cobblestones, my nemesis). Regardless, we’re all set to give warm welcomes to our incoming freshers. 

Now, let’s meet some more trainees! 

Trainee Introductions: Business, Law and Social Sciences 

Heidi Cruft – Sainsbury Library, Saïd Business School

Hi everyone! I’m Heidi, the Graduate Trainee at the Sainsbury Library in the Saïd Business School.   

Although my BA wasn’t in Business – I studied English at the University of Cambridge – I got a taste of what business students might be looking for while working with them during a summer scheme at my college. That experience gave me some insight into their research habits and made me appreciate how unique the Sainsbury Library is among the Bodleian Libraries: we primarily serve postgraduates, with a strong focus on journals and databases.  

I knew quite early on in my undergraduate degree that I wanted to pursue a career in libraries and was lucky to gain experience by volunteering at two of Cambridge’s college libraries. That proved invaluable – not only did I get to work with some fascinating special collections, but I learnt a lot about the day-to-day tasks common across most libraries, including processing new books, shelving, and answering enquiries.  

I’m really enjoying my role at the Sainsbury Library so far, and it’s been lovely to get to know the (quite large!) team here. I’ve particularly enjoyed learning how varied everyone’s roles are – it’s shown me how much collaboration goes on behind the scenes in library work. 

The Saïd Business School from the outside at night.
Photograph taken from the SBS website: The School | Saïd Business School

Gemma Hammond – Bodleian Law Library 

Hello! I’m Gemma, the graduate trainee at the Bodleian Law Library.  

I have a BA in History and an MPhil in Ancient History, both from Oxford. I’ve always been interested in working in libraries in some capacity, so after my Master’s I looked for volunteering opportunities and found a position in the library of a small theological college. This was a really useful experience because as well as getting a lot of shelving practice(!) I got to do all sorts of other background tasks (cataloguing, checking reading lists, working with the archive). I went on to work part-time as an evening and weekends library assistant in the Old Bodleian and the Art Library, which was much more focused on front-line reader services: issuing and returning books and generally helping readers and problem-solving.  

What I enjoy about working in libraries is that it’s relatively structured but also involves a variety of tasks, and you never quite know what will come up so it doesn’t get boring! I decided to apply for the graduate trainee role because I wanted to learn more about working in libraries in general, and technical services in particular, and to hopefully work out whether to commit to a further Master’s.   

I’ve really enjoyed my first month at the Law Library. Everyone has been welcoming and very helpful, and I feel like I’m beginning to settle in and become part of the team. I’ve obviously had a lot of experience using the Bodleian libraries as a student as well as working in them for the past year or so, but before now I hadn’t ever been in the Law Library. I don’t know much about law as a subject at all, so I’ve been learning a lot! I’ve also been getting used to the library itself, since of course although they’re all under the Bodleian Libraries umbrella, each library has its own idiosyncrasies. The Law Library is reference only, so no one can take the books out, which is a change from the libraries I’d worked in previously. As well as legal texts, the library houses the Official Papers collection, some of which date from the 16th century. 

So far, I’ve mainly been processing new books (putting tattle-tape in them and stamping them) and labelling them (there’s two different types of labels, reflecting the two classification systems that the library uses). I’ve also got to grips with using the Bookeye scanner, which is actually a lot easier than it looks! There’s not been too much shelving to do but the library has been getting busier as the beginning of term gets closer, so I’m sure I’ll soon have the opportunity to properly test myself on the library layout and shelfmarks. I’ve also spent some time at the Enquiry Desk. The (Grade II*-listed) building that the library is in can be a bit of a labyrinth and I’m still working on how best to answer the inevitable questions from readers about how to find the water fountain… For October I’m hoping to get involved in the book displays we have planned and looking forward to the start of a new term!   

The reading room and bookstacks of the Bodleian Law Library.

Summer Mainstone-Cotton – Social Science Library 

Hi everyone! I’m Summer, the graduate trainee at the Social Science Library (the SSL).   

Whilst a medievalist at heart, having studied an MA in Medieval Studies, I feel that I’m starting to find my feet amongst the Social Sciences (there were plenty of economic and political influences in the medieval world after all!) At the SSL we serve a mix of undergrads and postgrads, with probably our largest undergraduate cohort being the PPE students – I’m always a bit daunted when their big economic textbooks come to me for processing!   

I was fairly inexperienced with library work before this traineeship. As a student I spent a lot of time in libraries and became quite good at the detective work of tracking down obscure research books, but the inner workings of libraries remained a mystery. During my MA I did a placement at Cambridge University Library, but that was with special collections rather than reader or technical services – I learnt a lot about childbirth in medieval medical manuscripts, but I’m yet to find a use for that knowledge in the SSL! Far from being a disadvantage though, it’s made everything here feel new and interesting – I still get a lot of satisfaction from stamping books with the Bodleian stamp (even if I haven’t managed to stamp in a straight line yet).  

I’ve really enjoyed my first few weeks at the SSL. Everyone in the library has been very friendly and patient with my many questions and triple checking alma holdings editing – I’m still terrified I’ll accidently delete a book from the system!  

The traineeship offers a great mix of technical and reader services alongside the Wednesday training sessions, which makes every day new and interesting. I’m looking forward to the upcoming chaos of Michaelmas term and I’m sure this year will fly by! 

A view down the shelves at the Social Sciences Library.
More shelves and book displays at the Social Sciences Library.

Trainee Introductions: Colleges

Amy Fry – Christ Church College Library 

Hi everyone! I’m Amy, the Graduate Trainee at Christ Church Library for this year. My position is slightly different to the Bodleian Trainees: I’m technically employed by my college, but I still get the same training sessions and experiences. The best of both worlds!  

I studied Music at Lincoln College before starting this job, probably the only other Oxford college library whose beauty can compare to Christ Church’s (I still can’t quite work out where my loyalties lie…), however the world of libraries is rather new to me. It was actually the advertisement for the Bodleian Trainee scheme that sparked my interest in librarianship as a career, and after some great advice from Lucy and Marina, the librarians at Lincoln, I decided I would give it a go.   

Christ Church Library is a wonderfully impressive place to work. Vertically split into the Working Library downstairs and the Special Collections upstairs, it offers such variety on a daily basis. Downstairs, my responsibilities include much of the day-to-day tasks involved in keeping the library useful for students: processing, shelving, collections management, and fielding questions (if I know the answers that is…). Upstairs, I get to help out with exhibitions, and over the course of the year will also put on various short pop-ups. I’m currently planning one to celebrate the Christ Church 500 Music Festival – a rather cool experience for a music grad! I’m lucky to have joined such a welcoming and knowledgeable team here (9 of us total!) and feel very excited for what the rest of the year will hold, both in Christ Church and across the wider Bodleian Libraries! 

The outside of Christ Church Library in the fog.

Leah Duffin – New College Library 

Hello. My name is Leah, and I am the Graduate Trainee at New College Library. As I work in one of the colleges my role is different from the other trainees. I work across a multitude of projects, execute various tasks, and contribute to the successful running of the library. I am fortunate to feel quite settled in this role as I started in July and have had lots of exciting opportunities since then.  

I hold a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and History and a masters in Medieval Studies from University College Dublin. I have spent much of my academic career in libraries and upon completing my master’s I found myself drawn to a career in libraries. Due to the nature of my master’s research, I worked closely with special collections, and I knew that I wanted to foster this interest in a more professional capacity. Thus, I decided to move away from Ireland and combine my passion for history and libraries and what better place to do that than Oxford!  

Perhaps I show my bias but, in my opinion, New College is one of the finest colleges in Oxford and the library has become a welcoming and wonderful place to work. New College Library is home to a renowned collection of rare books and manuscripts; this includes 384 manuscripts and thousands of rare books and incunables. I was particularly drawn to this role as it allowed me to use the knowledge I gained in my studies through working with a rich repository of special collections whilst also learning more about librarianship and supporting readers. Here at the library, our year is full of opportunities to showcase our special collections, as we often hold exhibitions for the public to come and view our treasures! We also assist academics and readers in viewing our collections. Recently, I aided in curating our current temporary exhibition on the American illustrator Edward Gorey. I was responsible for deciding which items to showcase along with carrying out research, creating labels and designing the promotional material. As term has begun, we are busy holding inductions for new students, purchasing books from readings lists and planning our next exhibition that will take place in November. I am looking forward to what the next few months have in store! 

New College Library and Bell Tower from the outside, surrounded by trees and plant life.