The Social Science Library is now open and we look forward to welcoming you to your newly-refurbished space!
Due to supply chain issues there is further work to complete at a later date to finish our two new Group Study Rooms, fit acoustic wall panels, and replace the temporary furniture.
We expect the contractors to complete these works by end of January 2027 without further library closure (TBC).
Vacation borrowing ends today (Tuesday 13 October), and loans period will now operate on term-time rules.
Please bring back to the library any items you originally borrowed on or before 23 June 2026 for return or to re-borrow.
For further information on loan periods, see our ‘Borrow and Reserve Items’ webpage.
Any questions on the above? Please do contact us.
Build your confidence with the Bodleian iSkills programme, a series of free workshops that empower students, researchers and staff at the University of Oxford to develop essential skills in discovering, critically evaluating, managing, presenting and sharing information in an evolving digital and physical world.
Workshops taking place in 1st week, Michaelmas term
Monday 12th October
Designing a conference poster: getting started
🕘 11:00 to 12:00 | 💻 Online
Learn how to design a clear, impactful poster that communicates your research effectively.
Thursday 15th October
Fundamentals of open access
🕘 10:00 to 11:30 | 💻 Online
Understand what open access really means, decode the jargon and explore how publishing open can benefit your research.
To view a full list of this term’s workshops go to the Bodleian iSkills website or take a look at the iSkills term card for Michaelmas term 2026 below. All workshops must be booked in advance via the Bodleian iSkills website. You will need an Oxford Single Sign-On (SSO) to book a course. If you are a Bodleian Reader card holder and wish to attend a session, please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
New for 2026, you can now access Bodleian iSkills training materials on Canvas. These include PowerPoint presentations, handouts, video tutorials and recorded webinars.
Build your confidence with the Bodleian iSkills programme, a series of free workshops that empower students, researchers and staff at the University of Oxford to develop essential skills in discovering, critically evaluating, managing, presenting and sharing information in an evolving digital and physical world.
The thoughtfully crafted timetable of workshops will equip you with the essential information and data skills you need to excel this year and beyond.
Some of the workshops are in person and some online via Teams.
New for 2026, you can now also access Bodleian iSkills training materials on Canvas. These include PowerPoint presentations, handouts, video tutorials and recorded webinars.
To view a full list of this term’s workshops go to the Bodleian iSkills website or take a look at the iSkills Michaelmas Term Card below.
All workshops must be booked in advance via the Bodleian iSkills website. You will need an Oxford Single Sign-On (SSO) to book a course. If you are a Bodleian Reader card holder and wish to attend a session, please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
Libraries will play a big part during your time in Oxford, whether providing access to eBooks, eJournals and databases, helping you find books on your reading list or providing you with a place to study.
Getting to grips with the services we provide and finding your way around buildings and collections can seem daunting at first. We run Library Welcome Sessions and Tours to provide you with all the key information you need to know so you can confidently get down to your studies.
You may also find it useful to watch a short introductory video to the Bodleian Libraries.
Library Welcome Webinars are taking place Wednesday to Friday of 0th Week (7 – 9 October) and have been scheduled into students’ timetables with further details provided by your college.
A recording of the Webinar and PowerPoint slides are available on the Bodleian Libraries Getting Started webpage.
You can drop in to attend a welcome tour of the Social Science Library – no booking is needed. Welcome tours last 30 minutes and are running on the following dates:
Your Library Welcome sessions are in person and you will have been given details of them by your Department.
You can drop in to attend a welcome tour of the Social Science Library – no booking is needed. Welcome tours last 30 minutes and are running on the following dates:
Also refer to the Bodleian Libraries Getting Started : Research Postgraduates webpage for useful information.
Further information can be found via the links above or you can speak to our friendly library staff, who will be happy to help you.
The library space is currently closed to readers until Sunday 11 October (we will re-open on Monday 12 October) whilst our entrance area is refurbished but we continue to offer key services:
Further information on how to place requests and collect and return items can be found here.
Welcome to all of our new readers. We’ve put together some tips to help get you started using the Bodleian Libraries.
Take a look at the Bodleian Social Science Library (SSL) website for all the key information you will need to start using the Bodleian Libraries and our services.
Find books, journals and eResources via SOLO, the search and discovery tool for the major collections of Oxford University’s libraries (including the SSL). You can find further information on how to use it in our SOLO Guide.
You can also get assistance with using SOLO via the Bodleian Libraries Live Chat service. During staffed hours (Monday – Friday 9am-7pm) just type your query into the SOLO Live Chat box to the right of the screen and a staff member will reply.
Visit the Subject and Research Guides website to find expert advice on resources for your subject area. From here you can also link through to how to guides on key library services, such as how to use the Bodleian Libraries WiFi, password information and how to Print, Copy and Scan (PCAS). There is also information on online training courses (Bodleian iSkills) you may find useful to attend.
Still have questions? Need some help? Talk to our friendly staff, who will be happy to assist with any queries you may have. Speak to us in person at our Help Desk (see below) or contact us via phone (01865 2-71903) or via email.
The library space is closed to readers until Sunday 11 October (we will re-open on Monday 12 October) whilst our entrance area is refurbished but we continue to offer key services:
Further information on how to place requests and return items can be found here.
The fetching and enquiry service is available from an office near the main Manor Road Building Reception desk (for directions see link above) at the following times:
Monday 5 October – Sunday 11 October
The SSL will be open to readers as usual from Monday 12 October:
Monday – Friday: 9am – 10pm
Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 11am – 7pm
Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.
October’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Helen Worrell, Subject Consultant for Archaeology and Anthropology.
Helen’s choice is ARTstor. It was chosen because the resource gathers together over 2 million images sourced from international gallery, library and museum collections. The subjects cover art, architecture, photography and ethnographic objects.
Collections of high-quality images, curated from leading museums and archives around the world. ARTstor’s diverse collections are rights-cleared for education and research, and include Open Access content as well as rare materials not available elsewhere.
This resource is available to access via SOLO.
A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.
The SSL ‘Book of the Month’ feature highlights a book in our collection that has been chosen by one of our Subject Consultants. This may be a recent addition to our stock or an existing item that we would like to share with you.
October’s Book of the Month has been selected by Helen Worrell, Subject Consultant for Anthropology.
Fugitive anthropology : embodying activist research
Cordis, Shanya, et al., editors
University of Texas Press, 2026
This edited volume examines the current relations of power and inequalities that shape research and academia. It challenges conventional narratives by developing a process of activist ethnographic research grounded in embodied experience, political struggle, and solidarity with marginalized communities.
Fugitive Anthropology is a transnational, intergenerational engagement that extends feminist theory, activist research methodologies, and the discipline of anthropology in new directions. Contributors examine the tensions that arise from conducting politically engaged, collaborative research alongside communities in struggle, in particular theorizing from the experiences of racialized women, queer, trans, and gender nonconforming researchers across distinct geographies. Essays contend with the matrices of colonial, imperial, and patriarchal violence that afflict the researchers and communities with which they seek political alignment.
Fugitive Anthropology interrogates the power asymmetries and dynamics in ethnographic research and scholarly production. The essays provide compelling narratives of what is possible for the field when we take seriously our roles as scholars in documenting racial patriarchy and resistance to that violence and shifting activist methodologies from the margins to the center of anthropological research and writing. This collection is a must read for students and scholars interested in how to do ethical research while also being honest about the complexities and tensions involved in producing knowledge that advances social liberation.
Keisha-Khan Y. Perry, University of Pennsylvania, author of Black Women against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justice in Brazil
Fugitive Anthropology is a bold and lucid endeavor. At once methodologically unruly and astute, critically engaging and meticulously argued, its razor-sharp analytics are a testament to the power of ‘theory in the flesh.’
Rosa-Linda Fregoso, University of California, Santa Cruz, author of The Force of Witness: Contra Feminicide
We have one lending copy of this book, located at GN33.8.FUG 2026. We also have an eBook of the title available via SOLO. The eBook can be accessed from a Bodleian Library computer or can be used remotely, by logging on to SOLO with your SSO.
What would your SSL Book of the Month be? Do you have a favourite book in our collection? If so, we would love to know what it is. Add a comment below or email us.
Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.
September’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies.
Andy’s choice is GreenFILE. It was chosen because of its coverage all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
GreenFILE covers the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology.
Subjects Include
This resource is available to access via SOLO.
A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.
The SSL ‘Book of the Month’ feature highlights a book in our collection that has been chosen by one of our Subject Consultants. This may be a recent addition to our stock or an existing item that we would like to share with you.
September’s Book of the Month has been selected by Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, and Internet Studies.
The story of Earth’s climate in 25 discoveries: how scientists found the connections between climate and life
Donald R. Prothero
Columbia University Press, 2024
In this lively and entertaining book, Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries.
Over 4.5 billion years, Earth’s climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another—from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a “snowball earth” in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution.Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today.
In this lively and entertaining book, Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. This timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today.
Yale Climate Connections
Meticulous [and] engaging. [Prothero] is a master of identifying, distilling, and connecting key developments… while presenting them in a personal and accessible manner.
The Quarterly Review of Biology
In this enjoyable and deep account, Prothero uses fascinating lessons from geology and paleontology to explain and illustrate the important impacts that climate has had on life, and that life has had on climate in turn. The Story of Earth’s Climate in 25 Discoveries is an excellent addition to the author’s series on the 25 Discoveries concept.
Bruce Lieberman, Dean’s Professor, Senior Curator in the Biodiversity Institute, and Director of the Paleontological Institute, University of Kansas
We have two lending copies of this book, located at QC903.PRO 2024. Follow the information on our Blog post for how to consult this book during our library closure period for refurbishment works. We also have an eBook of the title available via SOLO. The eBook can be accessed from a Bodleian Library computer or can be used remotely, by logging on to SOLO with your SSO.
What would your SSL Book of the Month be? Do you have a favourite book in our collection? If so, we would love to know what it is. Add a comment below or email us.