Let your art leave your mark

Posted on 29 April 2026 by kharris

Unleash your creative side

The Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) Wellbeing Programme has long been a champion of encouraging our readers to show us their creative side. From our Lego Lunches, through monthly Craft & Chat to the one off events like the recent Painting for beginners class or Jewellery making, we have seen our readers produce really great work on a regular basis.

Now we would like to take this to the next level and make some of your pieces part of the fabric of the RSL by inviting you to submit work to be displayed in the Wellbeing Room and possibly other locations around the library. Let your art leave your mark on the RSL, creating something that might still be around the library long after you yourself have moved on.

The corner sofa in the Wellbeing room is surrounded by plain white walls. The amended image contains the words 'Your art here - or maybe here? - or here?' positioned in various blank spaces to illustrate where student work could appear — Your blank canvases

A poster from our recent Wellbeing Week event series. Some of these images show the other side of the Wellbeing Room where various prints already hang — Your blank canvases

What can I submit?

We would like you to submit a photograph or digital art work on the theme of reflect and recharge, but the photograph could be a reproduction of a painting or sketch, or a photo of a scuplture, crochet piece, etc. We may be able to help create the photographic reproduction depending on the project. There are no constraints in terms of the type of pieces from painting to printing, photography to collage – as long as we are able to receive a copy of sufficient resolution (300 ppi) to make the high quality prints on boards. Use whatever medium you want to express yourself and create something beautiful and lasting.

Is there a particular theme?

The principal location of the selected piece (s) will be in the RSL Wellbeing Room so themes need to be reflective of a calming environment to support readers taking time away from their work to relax and recharge.

Does it have to be a new piece?

Absolutely not, if you have already created something that you think would be a great fit then send us some images – we’d be delighted to receive them.

Any do’s & don’ts?

Just basic awareness that the successful piece(s) will be displayed in public spaces and that would need to be borne in mind in terms of subject matter. You would also need to ensure there is no infringement on any existing copyrighted material. Any pieces created solely using AI would not be considered.

How will my work be displayed?

To some extent this will be governed by the submissions that we receive. If we receive a number of suitable pieces than we will look at our options and may create a showcase display piece that brings a number of readers works together highlighting the varied talent.

Final Decision

The libraries decision is final and any and all works selected will be chosen for how well they suit the Wellbeing Room, the Bodleian Libraries and the themes of reflect and recharge.

How do I submit my work?

It couldn’t be easier, just complete the submission form and attach the images for consideration. The form includes information on a Creative Commons licence, which you will need to agree to, this will entitle us to reproduce and display your work. Your work will always be fully credited to you and labelled as such on any display in the RSL.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 19th June 2026.

If you have any questions please contact rachel.scanlon@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Photograph of hand made woollen toys on a shelf. There is a turtle and a bee - both have been knitted or crocheted

A photograph of a cuddly dragon toy who appears to be attempting to scale a bean bag

New Trial: Coherent Digital Applied Science Modules

Posted on 22 April 2026 by kharris

New resource trial at the Radcliffe Science Library

The library is currently trialling a new resource to help researchers locate grey literature across a range of scientific disciplines. Grey literature refers to materials produced by organisations such as charities, governments, and businesses, outside of traditional academic publishing. It includes works such as reports, technical papers, blogs, theses, pamphlets, white papers and clinical guideline documents. Grey literature is often difficult to locate. It is not usually indexed in major databases, is scattered across organisational websites, and can disappear from the web without warning. It can contain valuable data and evidence not published elsewhere that can inform research. Grey literature is often required in systematic reviews and similar comprehensive literature review projects. To address these challenges, the library is trialling several Coherent Digital Applied Science Commons modules.

Coherent Digital Applied Science Modules

Until the 30^th of May, all Oxford members have access to Coherent Digital Applied Science Commons modules in ‘Environmental Sciences’, ‘Psychology’, and ‘Computer Science, Data, and AI’. The modules make it easier to search for grey literature by –

Consolidating documents from hundreds of organisations.

Archiving full-text documents at risk of deletion.

Creating stable, permanent links for citing grey literature.

Providing a sophisticated search interface to help pinpoint relevant material efficiently.

We encourage researchers to explore these resources during the trial and provide feedback. This will help inform our decision on subscribing to one or more modules.

Access the modules online

These modules can all be accessed online:

Applied Psychology

Computer Science, Data and AI

Applied Environmental Science

Screen shot from the home page of the Applied Psychology collection — Applied Psychology

Screen shot from the home page of the Computer Science, Data & AI collection — Applied Psychology

Help & Tutorials

To get started with, and learn more about using, this new resource, you can use the following guide to Coherent Digital Applied Science modules and search tips for using the modules

Please provide your feedback

Please complete our short feedback survey for the trial to share your views. You can share your feedback until the 3^rd of June.

If you prefer to send your feedback via email or have any questions about the trial, please contact oliver.bridle@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

RSL Wellbeing Week 2026

Posted on 25 February 2026 by kharris

Banish the 5th Week Blues

We hear all the time that the fifth week of Hilary Term (16-20th February) is a tough one. This year the Radcliffe Science Library scheduled our Wellbeing Week in the hope of providing a boost for our students at the point you say you need it most.

Wellbeing Week Events

Overall almost 300 people attended the events, an increase of around 15% from Wellbeing Week 2025.

During the week, the RSL ran both pre-booked and drop in events, mixing the regular staples of our Wellbeing Calendar like Lego Lunch (every Wednesday) with a selection of first time offerings such as ‘Carnivorous Plants’.

This year’s programme of events was put together based on your feedback. We thought the suggestions we received from students were great and saw us introduce ‘Jewellery Making’, which proved a real hit and was one of our best attended events, ‘Painting for Beginners’ and a ‘Boardgames Evening’.

A wide show of a table during the jewellery making session. Five women focus on their pieces and the table is littered with an array of thread and beads as they work — Jewellery making in full swing during Wellbeing Week

A wide shot of the Wellbeing Room showing four tables full of painters. The course instructor is at a table in the far corner offering help and guidance. In total ten painters appear in shot with the tables full of paints, brushes and water pots — Jewellery making in full swing during Wellbeing Week

A wider Wellbeing audience

Although many of our events were student focused, we were delighted to open others up to all members of the University and it was great to see staff joining students in taking a Blind Date with a Book and learning about Carnivorous Plants, from Dr Lauren Baker of the Oxford Botanic Gardens. We’re pleased to report that all participants safely survived this encounter and reports about exactly how high members of RSL staff jumped when the Venus flytrap snapped shut have been greatly exaggerated!

Three female students test out the reactions of the carnivorous plants by gently stimulating them with a stirring stick — Students test the reactions of the carnivorous plants

Set up from the start of the Blind Date with a book event. 11 books are arranged on a circular table, each on wrapped in paper with a descriptive note stuck on the front. Most descriptions cannot be read in the image save one on the book at the front, which says: 'I journal by candlelight and fall in love with inconvenient people. Pick me for crumbling castles, sharp wit, and the kid of slow-burning longing that feels like summer in the English countryside' — Students test the reactions of the carnivorous plants

Thanks for coming

A big thank you to each and every one who joined in this Wellbeing Week. With over 75% of the pre-booked events (including all the new activities) going to waiting lists, we were also grateful to those who cancelled places when their circumstances changed. This allowed those who would otherwise have missed out to fill their spaces and was much appreciated.

Fantastic Feedback

As one student put it as she tucked into her hot chocolate, explained how much she had enjoyed the painting and was looking forward to jewellery making “I am going to be SOOOO well by the end of this week”

We are all different and to help us gauge the overall success of the Wellbeing Week we asked a selection of attendees to carry out subjective assessments of their own wellbeing and to look at how the activities they had chosen impacted how they felt. Across the respondents there was an overwhelming view that taking time out to relax and recharge had a positive impact on their Wellbeing with an average increase of 17% after the event they took part in.

Blind Date with a Book: “Great way to connect with people, especially at this busy time of year” “Super grateful to everyone who organised this… loved the wrapping paper….thank you”

Hot Chocolate: “It’s such a busy week so this is great as a break” “…..this is my reward”

Jewellery Making: “Loved it…” “Thank you, that was so fun” “This was so good. Can we do it again?”

Boardgame night: “Brilliant” “It would be great if you could do this again”

Overall: “I just wanted to say that a group of us physicists have started a friend group just from studying in and using the the Wellbeing Room, so thanks for that!” “I’m feeling very well this week, thanks to this”

Smiling lady shows her completed painting. She has painted a bird on a tree branch with foliage and blossom — Another great Wellbeing Week painting

Two students show off the jewellery pieces that they have just completed. Both have made bracelets with many pieces in a variety of colours — Another great Wellbeing Week painting

Beyond Wellbeing Week

We have further wellbeing activities this term including regular items like our Lego Lunch and DPhil Crafty Connections! Check out our Wellbeing Calendar to see more RSL events or the Bodleian Libraries Wellbeing page. If you’d like to collaborate with the Radcliffe Science Library on a Wellbeing event then please get in touch rsl-wellbeing@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

A smiling student shows off the bracelet that she has made — Here’s one I made earlier

Smiling man shows off his completed painting of a bird on a blossoming tree — Here’s one I made earlier

The Michaelmas Wrap

Posted on 20 January 2026 by kharris

The first chapter of the 25/26 academic year has been written and a new one is underway here at the Radcliffe Science Library. We thought that it would be a nice opportunity to revisit some of the highlights of the Michaelmas term and to give you a heads up on some things to keep an eye out for during Hilary.

RSL in 2025

Throughout 2025, we continued to ask for your feedback on how we could enhance your experience and in Michaelmas term we continued to add to our offering. Based on your comments, we once again increased the number of monitors available in the library. New product lines were added to the ‘items we lend’ with the noise cancelling headphones proving particularly popular.

Alongside these physical items, we have introduced new programmes including the Pomodoro based working groups. These have seen the Subject Librarians chair timed sessions where attendees commit to focused work and regular short breaks during the two or three hour slots. With refreshments available, they have provided a number of our Postgrads with both a highly effective working environment and a peer networking opportunity. 100% of those who attended a session in 2025 stated that they would join future dates when they become available.

The Subject Librarians have introduced new resources and collections to the RSL’s offering including the Global Health archive, the Science of Synthesis and a World Scientific Quantum Technologies Collection.

They have provided direct support (either through leading/contributing to workshops or holding one to one sessions) to over 2500 attendees during the Michaelmas term across our undergraduate, Postgrad and Postdoc reader community.

Inside one of the reading rooms. Close image of a desk featuring four monitors and the cabling that readers can plug in to — Reading room

Combined image of the four RSL subject librarians. Clockwise from the top left Rachel Scanlon, Karine Barker, Alessandra Vetrugno & Oliver Bridle all pictured in situ in the library — Reading room

Michaelmas Wellbeing at the RSL

Michaelmas term saw the Wellbeing Room in constant use, either in its capacity as a drop in space to provide a relaxing change of scene, or as the host venue for a series of events encouraging readers to schedule a break.

Guaranteeing that the space is available every day from 2pm-5pm on weekdays ensures that all readers have the opportunity to use the room. If you haven’t had the chance yet then come explore and enjoy this unique environment and its facilities.

Our weekly Lego Lunch (every Wednesday) and the monthly Craft & Chat afternoon (1st Tuesday each month) continue to draw regular guests but we have plenty of capacity for more of you to join us. Lego Lunch is a drop in event although we do ask you to sign up for the crafting sessions to help us manage the materials that we need.

Michaelmas saw a number of special events including a Mindfulness session to help us with the skills that build resilience into our working lives. There were two lovely ‘Hug in a mug’ Hot Chocolate days where the RSL team served up free drinks with marshmallow trimmings and no one who attended will forget the happiness that the Therapy Dogs bring as they stopped by for lunch in December. We hosted Post Docs for Pizza and DPhils crafted at Christmas as we laid on networking events for different members of our reader community.

We revisited a favourite from previous terms as we collected (and then shredded!) our readers worries. A cathartic event to end the year saw many of you drop in to share a cuppa and a bit of cake as we consigned our concerns to the past and sent them off to enjoy a new life (as part of the fertiliser used to grow some of the beautiful flowers in the University gardens).

Supporting reader wellbeing across the whole library, we have continued to offer weekly free hot drinks every Wednesday between 10am and noon. This self-service facility is set out by the Reader Services team in the vending area and provided over 275 teas, coffees and hot chocolates last term. Running each week during term time, your first date for a free cuppa is this Wednesday, the 21st January.

Student smiling with her craft surrounded by crafting material

Male student smiles with one of the therapy dogs at his feet

What’s Hilary got in store?

Keep your eyes on the posters and screens around the library as we will be continuing to highlight a series of newly added resources throughout the Hilary term. Each month either an all new resource or a selection of new, subject specific, items will be promoted throughout the library.

In addition to this, we will continue to highlight the opportunities presented by existing resources as the Subject Librarians take it in turn to recommend titles, databases or collections from their field of expertise that can aid you in your work.

They will continue to provide support to both the Bodleian Libraries wide iSkills workshop programme as well as other courses offered by specific Divisions and Departments and you can contact them to request one to one support for specific queries such as purchasing a book that we do not currently hold or help using particular resources as the need arises.

The Subject Librarians will also be leading new Focus & Finish sessions for Hilary, built on the success of last year’s work and using the Pomodoro study technique. We will manage the timings to ensure focused work is followed by short breaks to help maintain concentration and support you with the right environment to get that outstanding task done. Spaces on the first two sessions are available now.

Hilary Term will see a number of additional events added to the Wellbeing Calendar, including details of our Wellbeing Week, which will be released shortly, so keep a look out for more information here and across Bodleian libraries to make sure you don’t miss the chance to time your breaks to coincide with some enjoyable and restorative activities.

We would very much encourage you to continue to give us your feedback, both the positive and any constructive criticism, that you think will enable us to develop and enhance your reading experience. You can do so using the whiteboards situated throughout the library, the comments book located outside the main reading room or by speaking to the Reader Services team in person, on live chat or by e-mailing enquiries.rsl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Thank you for continuing to use the Radcliffe Science Library, we wish you every success in your work during the Hilary term and beyond.

A whiteboard requesting feedback covered in a variety of comments

Two smiling female readers with their free hot chocolate

Holidays are coming, holidays are coming….

Posted on 10 December 2025 by kharris

Before you go

As we move past the end of the teaching term, thoughts start to turn to the holidays or, as we know many of you like to call it, working from home!

The RSL is now open in line with the vacation timetable until Sunday 18th January, this includes a Christmas break between the 24th December & 1st January (inclusive) where the library will be closed.

Books borrowed during this period are taken on extended terms and will be due for return or renewal the first week of Hilary Term (exclusions may apply).

Help & assistance

Reader Services remain available to support you either in person or virtually throughout the holiday season when the library is open. The desks will be staffed as usual and, whether you are physically in the library or now working remotely, you can address any queries via e-mail enquiries.rsl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or use the Live Chat function between 9am – 5pm on weekdays.

Accessing library services from home

Gone are the days when being unable to visit the library meant that you could not access the library….. Using your Oxford University Single Sign On (SSO) you are able to access a huge variety of resources from the RSL at home (or indeed wherever you may find yourself this holiday season).

Solo

Search for the books that you need and apply filters to access those titles that are available online, wherever you are.

Screenshot of a search in the SOLO system. It features a festive Santa Claus query in the search bar and three listings for books. Each has a flag highlighting that they are available online

ORLO

Oxford Reading Lists Online (ORLO) brings together almost 200 reading lists and can be accessed and searched at anytime using your SSO.

E-Journals

You can access E-Journals through SOLO and Browzine. Browzine provides access to all journals licenced by Oxford University from 2005 onwards

Screenshot of the Browzine search facility. On the left of the screen is an alphabetical list of subjects starting with Arts and humanities. The Central image is a collage of magazine covers illustrating the large collection of journals all stored in one place.

Databases

Databases are also accessible through SOLO. You can filter your resources to Databases in your search or use the Database A-Z function on the home page. Overall there are almost 2000 Databases available including our recently publicised new resources – the Global Health Archive and the Science of Synthesis.

Subject & Research guides

Like a dog, Subject & Research guides are not just for Christmas (!) but this a handy time to remind people of these resources at your disposal. The A-Z Subject guides provide a summary of the tools to support your work in each area including details of key journals and Databases.

Guidance for researchers provides insights on services, materials and tools for researchers in all disciplines.

We hope that you all have a fantastic holiday and wish you and all of your families the very best for a happy and prosperous 2026.

A cat and two dogs sat in front of a Christmas tree wearing festive headgear

Book recommendations

Posted on 4 May 2023 by catherinedockerty

If there are any books you would like to see in the library that are not currently in the collection, please send use the recommend a purchase form or contact your subject or outreach librarian.

Please note that the deadline for new book requests for this academic year is Friday June 2^nd.

iSkills for Undergraduate Science, Michaelmas term 2022

Posted on 11 October 2022 by catherinedockerty

Free training sessions to help science students develop the information skills to succeed with research and writing – find out more and book sessions online
using the links below.

Explore Virtual Reality and 3D Printing
Monday 31 October 2022, 5-6pm
Social Sciences Library Information Skills Training Room
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/course/MPLS0001

Easier Referencing with RefWorks
Thursday 3 November 2022, 5-6pm
Social Sciences Library Information Skills Training Room
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/course/MPLS0002

Successful Searching for your Assignments (MSD)
Thursday 10 November 2022, 5-6pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/course/MPLS0003

Successful Searching for your Assignments (MPLS)
Tuesday 8 November 2022, 5-6pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/course/MPLS0004
Thursday 1 November 2022, 5-6pm
Social Sciences Library Information Skills Training Room
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/course/MPLS0005

Sources for Science: Learning the craft of evaluating information and referencing academic sources online
Monday 7 November 2022, 5-6pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/course/ISKILL0071

AIAA meeting papers

Posted on 24 August 2022 by catherinedockerty

We now have online access to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) meeting papers. These are papers from AIAA’s Forums and supported conferences covering every aspect of aerospace – approximately 5,000 are published every year. Our subscription includes the complete archive which provides access to historical papers published by AIAA from 1963 up to the current year.

ORLO (Oxford Reading Lists Online)

Posted on 21 November 2020 by catherinedockerty

Oxford Reading Lists Online (ORLO) is the reading list system for the University of Oxford, and aims to support students by making collections of resources more accessible and relevant to their different learning needs.

With ORLO, students can access up-to-date reading lists 24/7 from a range of devices, check location and availability of the items on reading lists and access ebooks and article through the “View Online” button. Personal notes can also be added. ORLO can be accessed through Canvas or at http://readinglists.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ by logging in with your Oxford Single Sign-On ID (SSO).

For more information, please see:

Information for staff – https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ORLO
Information for students – https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ORLO

New online titles

Posted on 7 September 2020 by catherinedockerty

Since Bodleian Libraries sites closed in March, library staff have been busy expanding significantly our collections of ebooks – purchasing as many as we can of the books on MPLS and MSD reading lists and other books that are heavily borrowed by students.

These include hundreds of individual new online books as well as significant collections of online textbooks including the OUP Chemistry Primers, Elsevier ClinicalKey Student, LWW Healthcare, and the Cambridge University Press STM Collection (which just in itself brings us 8,500 new online textbooks in MSD and MPLS subject areas).

We have also acquired access to two collections of online journals from SAGE, which are now available via SOLO:

Royal Society of Medicine Press:

Institution of Mechanical Engineers: