Category Archives: Library Resources

Beyond reading with the Bodleian Libraries

Films, videos, TV and recorded Plays

Kanopy

Kanopy is a video-streaming platform with a diverse collection of over 30,000 enriching films, available to stream anytime and anywhere — from desktop to TV to tablet.

Great for:

Thought-provoking films and documentaries
World cinema and independent film
Viewing on phone, laptop, tablet, or smart TV

An on-demand TV and radio service for education. You can search an archive of over 2 million broadcasts, record programmes from over 65 free-to-air channels, and create playlists, clips and clip compilations.

Great for:

Catching up on programmes you missed
Searching from the archive
Creating playlists and clips

RSC Live Collection (Royal Shakespeare Company Live)

If you’re a fan of Royal Shakespeare Company performances, this online collection is not to be missed. It offers access to 35 filmed productions staged since 2013, including Twelfth Night starring comedy icon Adrian Edmondson and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Further information on audio and visual materials is listed on the Shakespeare subject guide.

Films on DVD and Blu-ray

The new Humanities Library in the newly opened Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities holds an extensive collection of films on DVD and Blu-ray, focusing on American, British, and European cinema, as well as world cinema, including works from Latin America and Asia.

To search SOLO for DVDs and videos of specific titles, or titles by a specific director, go to Advanced Search, enter the title or director’s name, then limit Material Type to “Video/Film”.

You will need to bring your university card with you to the library.

Audiobooks and recordings

O’Reilly Online Learning

O’Reilly’s on-demand digital library (formerly Safari Books Online) provides e-books, audio books, videos, interactive tutorials, and live online classes from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, covering a wide range of tech and business-related topics and skills.

Oxford Single Sign-On (SSO) required for access

To search for videos or audio books related to a specific skill:

Select Explore Skills > Soft Skills > Personal Productivity

Filter by Formats: “Courses” and “Audiobooks”

To search for videos and audiobooks from specific publishers (e.g., Harvard Business Review) during the last year, refresh the search, set the Formats filter to Videos and Audiobooks, set Publication date to Last year, and search “Harvard Business Review”.

LibriVox

LibriVox is a platform that provides access to audio versions of books in the public domain read by volunteers. These are closely aligned with the titles available in Project Gutenberg, including literary classics and fiction, mostly in English but also in other languages. The LibriVox catalogue of 20,000 audio books is now available and searchable through SOLO. Titles can be searched individually in SOLO. If you would like to browse the list of titles, you can search for “LibriVox” and set “Material Type” to “Sound recordings”.

RNIB Bookshare

The Bodleian Libraries manage the University’s RNIB Bookshare account, providing free access to nearly 1 million accessible titles, including audiobooks, for students and staff with print disabilities. This includes those with visual impairments, specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, and other conditions that make reading print difficult.

If you would like more information, please contact disability.librarian@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Music

The Humanities Library has a large collection of CD and LP sound recordings. These primarily cover the Western classical tradition, but also include jazz, popular music, and world music, as well as an extensive opera collection. A selection of CDs is kept in the Multimedia Room, mostly arranged alphabetically by principal composer. Many CDs are now stored offsite and can be requested through SOLO. You can listen to CDs using the equipment in the Multimedia Room.

LPs are stored offsite. They are not yet catalogued in SOLO. If you would like to explore the collection, please speak to library staff.

We hope this look at the Bodleian’s wider collection has inspired you to watch or listen to some of the multitude of available items and resources. If you have questions or want to find out more, please do contact us or ask at the Enquiry Desk.

Green Libraries Week: 27 October – 2 November 2025

This week marks Green Libraries Week, an event organised by CILIP to celebrate and promote sustainability initiatives in libraries across the UK. The Sainsbury Library is taking part with a new interactive display.

Our display features ‘feedback trees’ made from scrap cardboard, inviting students to pin leaves sharing their sustainability messages, requests, and goals for the library. Alongside this, we’ve curated a book display highlighting resources on climate change, environmental action, and sustainable business practices.

All featured materials can be accessed via the links below (Oxford SSO required) or by visiting the display in the Lower Reading Room. For further resources, explore our GOTO: Climate Action LibGuide.

Sustainable Business and Management
Net Positive : How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
Runaway climate change and rampant inequality threaten humanity and are costing a fortune. Net Positive demonstrates how business can help lead us to a better future.
The Green Bundle: Pairing the Market With the Planet
Combining insights from sustainable business and behavioural economics, Delmas and Colgan show managers how to lead buyers from information to action. If you are looking to win over the convenient consumer or understand how companies can create the next tipping point in green consumption, this is the research-based, practical guide for you.
The Responsible Business: Reimagining Sustainability and Success
“The Responsible Business” outlines a framework for building a responsibility and consciousness infrastructure that applies a living systems view to the business and inspires all of its stakeholders, including shareholders.

Economics and Public Action
Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning
We know that climate change is happening. We know that it could, if the worst predictions come true, destroy the conditions which make human life possible. Only one question is now worth asking: can it be stopped?
Don’t Even Think About it: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
From the founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network, a groundbreaking take on the most urgent question of our time: Why, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, do we still ignore climate change?
Saving the Planet Without the Bullshit: What They Don’t Tell You About the Climate Crisis
In this provocative manifesto, Assaad Razzouk shows that for too long our ideas about what’s best for the environment have been unfocused and distracted, trying to go in too many directions and concentrating on individual behaviour. While some of these things can be useful, they are dwarfed by one big thing that simply has to happen very soon if we’re to avoid major environmental breakdown: curtailing the activities of the fossil fuel industry.
What We Need to Do Now
Embracing Britain’s promise to become carbon neutral by 2050, Chris Goodall makes a pivotal practical plan for achieving widespread change in this engaging and inspiring volume.

Guides, Plans, and Personal Climate Action
What Can we do by Friday?: The Practical Guide to Personal Climate Action
“What Can We Do by Friday?” is written to tackle one of the most urgent crises of our time: climate change. It’s not a theoretical or academic discourse; it’s a call to action. This book breaks down the complexities of the climate crisis into simple, actionable steps that individuals and business leaders can take immediately to make a meaningful difference.
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and The Breakthroughs We Need
In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical and accessible – plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe.

For more resources, see our posts about other recent book displays.

Understanding Artificial Intelligence

New in at Sainsbury Library: Wellbeing Collection

Library Launchpad (staff induction)

Wed 5 Nov 2025, 15:30–16:30
Seminar Room 10 → Sainsbury Library
Presentation + library tour and Q&A

A termly library induction session for staff members to discover what the Sainsbury Library and the Bodleian Libraries offer, how to find and access resources, and how we can support you and your students.

The session will enable participants to Search and access various types of materials and resources offered through the Sainsbury Library and the Bodleian Libraries network for work, professional development and leisure.

Understand support we offer to students and staff members and how you can make most of our collections, resources and services.
Hear how we collaborate with departments – and tell us what further support you and your students need.
Format: Presentation, library tour, Q&A
Drop-in: Attend the presentation (at 15:30, Seminar room 10, PES), the tour (at 16:15, the Sainsbury library), or both. No booking needed, just turn up.
Who: All staff welcome
Contact: library@sbs.ox.ac.uk

IT Loans

Need IT accessories? Borrow them from the Library!

Did you forget your laptop charger? Need an adaptor for a monitor? Want to focus with noise-cancelling headphones? The Sainsbury Library has you covered! We offer a range of IT loan items that can be borrowed from the Enquiry Desk to help you stay productive while you’re in the library.

What’s Available?

Adaptors & Cables

AV Adaptors: USB-C to Digital AV, HDMI to DVI-D, USB-C to HDMI
Cables: Lightning to USB, USB to USB-C, Micro USB, HDMI cables (8K) in 3ft and 6ft lengths
Travel Adaptors: International and EU to UK travel adaptors

Laptop Chargers

MacBook Chargers: USB-C (29W, 70W), Magsafe 2 (85W)
Universal USB-C Laptop Charger: 100W charger for multiple Windows laptops including HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more

Mac Accessories

Apple Magic Keyboard & Mouse

New Addition: Noise-Cancelling Headphones!

We’re excited to announce the addition of the Soundcore Q20i Noise Cancelling Headphones to our loans! These comfortable, high-quality headphones will help block out distractions so you can focus on studying, reading, or working on assignments. You can also install the Soundcore app on your device and access a range of background sounds to further minimise distractions.

How to Borrow IT Equipment

All items are available for loan from the Enquiry Desk on a short-term basis while you are in the library.
Simply ask a staff member for the item you need, and they will sign it out to you using your University/Bodleian card.
Please return items promptly so others can use them too!

If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to help!

New Apple iMacs in the library

We’re thrilled to announce that we have brand new iMacs in the Sainsbury Library! These new, high-performance iMacs have replaced older, slower computers, bringing you faster processing, stunning visuals, and an enhanced experience for all your study and research needs.

Why you’ll love the new iMacs

Lightning-fast performance:
The Apple Silicon chip in each of the iMacs brings serious speed and power to your fingertips. These iMacs are ideal for complex data science projects, data processing, and other demanding software you may need for coursework or research.

Beautiful displays for visual work:
The new iMacs feature high-resolution Retina displays, perfect for working on visual projects, such as presentations, graphic design, or video editing.

Customisable with Apps via Orchard Software Centre:
Need specific software for a project? The iMacs allow you to install apps directly from the Orchard Software Centre, giving you the flexibility to tailor your workstation to your needs. Whether it’s data analysis tools, productivity apps, or creative software, you’ll have the resources you need right at your fingertips.

Perfect for Every Task
Whether you’re crunching numbers in a financial model, conducting complex data tasks, or simply organizing your assignments, these iMacs are equipped to handle it all. And with improved processing speeds, you can get through tasks faster and make the most of your time in the library.

So come try out the new iMacs today and take your studies to the next level. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create!

Training needs survey

We value your feedback to enhance your experience with the Sainsbury Library. To better understand your confidence in information skills, your use of library resources, and your preferences for training formats and timing, we invite you to take part in a short survey.
The survey will take just 3–5 minutes to complete and will help us tailor our support services to your needs.

Access the Survey online.

Thank you for being an active part of the Sainsbury Library community! Don’t forget to explore the training sessions and workshops we currently offer on our LibGuide page. Your input makes a difference!

World Mental Health Day 2024

For World Mental Health Day 2024, mental health in the workplace is the focus. With 875,000 workers suffering from work related stress, depression and anxiety in 2022/23 and 15% of UK workers estimated to have existing mental health conditions (Mental Health Foundation Statistics), awareness and action for mental health is necessary. Addressing mental health in the workplace is for the benefit of everyone – for both the individual and the workplace (mental health is the 5th most common reason for sickness absence) and thus is a priority to tackle from a personal and organisational level. Work can be good for your mental health in giving a sense of purpose but balance between work and life is key. This mental health day we have collated a selection of self-help and work-life balance books to help in taking a step for better mental health. You could also come and take a break at the Sainsbury Library at our colouring and puzzle station or try your hand at some origami! Find more in our recommendations of 7 Fun Things to do in the Library.

Featured books

Workplace wellness that works: 10 steps to infuse well-being and vitality into any organization by Laura Putnam
Beating Burnout, Finding Balance: Mindful Lessons for a Meaningful Life by Melo Calarco
Beating burnout at work: why teams hold the secret to well-being and resilience by Paula Davis
Mental health and wellbeing in the workplace: a practical guide for employers and employees by Gill Hasson and Donna Butler
Mindfulness for the wandering mind: life-changing tools for managing stress and improving mental health at work and in life by Pandit Dasa
HBR guide to better mental health at work HBR guide to work-life balance

Every Library is a Green Library: Sustainability book display inspired by Green Libraries Week 2024!

Green Libraries week – running 7^th–13^th October 2024 – is a campaign organised by CILIP that aims to enable public libraries in England to address Environmental Responsibility and to work with their communities to take action. This extends to all libraries; school and university libraries have joined public libraries in signing the Green Libraries Manifesto. As part of Saïd Business School which provides an abundance of online Insights into Climate Change, the Sainsbury Library contains a wealth of resources on how we can help the planet from all levels – both physical and digital (take a look at our Climate Action Libguide!). This Green Libraries week, we have provided a selection of climate awareness resources in our library display ranging from public and social responsibility to marketing, economic, and library action on climate change.

Sustainable Libraries

Sustainable Thinking: Ensuring your Library’s Future in an Uncertain World by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich

Forward thinking on the development of environmental aspects of libraries and the aims and objectives of libraries. A sustainable library requires sustainable thinking, and this book defines how sustainable thinking encompasses equally the environment, economics and social equity.

Going Green: Implementing Sustainable Strategies in Libraries Around the World: Buildings, Management, Programmes and Services edited by Petra Hauke, Madeleine Charney and Harri Sahavirta

This collection of articles covers environmental aspects of libraries, including energy conservation and how to reduce the ecological footprint in libraries’ everyday operations. The social role and responsibility of libraries as leaders in environmental sustainability
is assessed, as well as examples of implemented practices from academic libraries across the world, including Kenya, USA, and Germany.

Public Action and Climate Change Mitigation

Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning by George Monbiot

Providing guidance on how we as the public can help the environment and prevent global warming.

Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation by Paul Hawken

Connects people to resources on solutions and actions to be taken to end the climate crisis. The Project Regeneration website also provides further insight. They have a weekly newsletter called The Waggle about regeneration and the restoration of earth’s life.

Human Choice and Climate Change edited by Steve Rayner and Elizabeth L. Malone

The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future by David Wallace-Wells

Highlights both the social aspects of climate change and presents the economic setback that climate change proposes, emphasising its widespread detriment.

Economics and Capitalism

Completing Capitalism: Heal Business to Heal the World by Bruno Roche and Jay Jakub

Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism by John Elkington

Elkington discusses the social responsibility of business and declares his manifesto for a system to serve people, planet and prosperity.

The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier by John Elkington

Elkington introduces ‘Zeronauts’ in his book; innovators who aim to drive problems of carbon, waste, and poverty to zero. These innovators widely tackle economic, social and environmental challenges. Sifting through the environmental aspects of technical innovations, Elkington produces a five stage ‘Pathways to Zero’ model.

Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet by Tim Jackson

Focussing on the issues of continued economic growth in developed nations, Jackson highlights the detrimental environmental impact that rising consumption causes. Jackson finds a solution for how human society can prosper within the limited resourced earth that does not rely on continued economic growth without the ecosystem’s ability to support it.

Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet by Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman

‘If you had a 10 percent chance of having a fatal car accident, you’d take necessary precautions. If your finances had a 10 percent chance of suffering a severe loss, you’d reevaluate your assets. So, if we know the world is warming and there’s a 10 percent chance this might eventually lead to a catastrophe beyond anything we could imagine, why aren’t we doing more about climate change right now?’. Taking an economic lens, Wagner and Weitzman analyse the consequences and possible solutions to this warming planet making previous work on this topic accessible for the general public.

Guides, Business and Marketing

The Green Bundle: Pairing the Market with the Planet by Magali A. Delmas with David Colgan

A guide which aims to teach how the market of green products needs a two-fold marketing strategy that appeals to both the altruistic and egoistic values of consumers – termed ‘the green bundle’. Marketing strategy, environmentalism and human psychology are collated in this extensive guide.

The Future of Luxury Brands: Artification and Sustainability edited by Annamma Joy

A pioneering book analysing sustainability and the environmental aspects of four major sections of the luxury goods industry; the art world, fashion, hospitality services and fine wines.

The Green Executive: Corporate Leadership in a Low Carbon Economy by Gareth Kane

Global problems are made into digestible practical actions for businesses.

Harnessing Markets for Biodiversity: Towards Conservation and Sustainable Use by Dan Biller

Sustainable Business: Key Issues by Helen Kopnina, Rory Padfield and Josephine Mylan

This textbook provides an accessible overview of some concepts of sustainability in business. This updated version considers recent developments such as the climate emergency and COVID-19 and suggests a solution of circular rather than linear economy – a Cradle-to-Cradle
Framework rather than Cradle to Grave. The challenges and solutions offered in this textbook direct us to making sustainability a reality.

Business and the Environment: Implications of the New Environmentalism edited by Denis Fischbacher-Smith

For more resources, see our posts about other recent book displays.

Fresh Green Leaves: New Reading on Sustainable, Responsible & Ethical Business

A Spotlight on Wellbeing

A Warm Welcome at the MBA Information Fair

Today, the Sainsbury Library took part in the Saïd Business School’s MBA Information Fair. It was a great opportunity to welcome our incoming MBA students, answer questions and share how we can assist them during their studies at Oxford. The library team introduced MBAs to the many resources and services that we provide throughout the programme. There were also plenty of freebies including eco-friendly canvas bags, pens and notebooks – ideal for jotting down notes during lectures. And to keep up energy levels, we also offered Sainsbury Library branded M&M’s!

If you’re a new MBA student, do visit the library, meet the team, and discover how we can assist you in your studies. Here’s to a productive and inspiring year ahead!

Sainsbury Library News

A BODLEIAN LIBRARIES BLOG