Bodleianalia: Curious Facts about Britain’s Oldest University Library

Which is the smallest book in the Bodleian Library? Who complained when their secret pen name was revealed in the library’s catalogue? How many miles of shelving are there in the Book Storage Facility? What is the story behind the library’s refusal to lend a book to King Charles I? And, what is fasciculing?

The answers to these questions and many more can be found inside this intriguing miscellaneous collection of curious facts and stories about the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Home to more than 12 million books and a vast array of treasures including the Gutenberg bible, J.R.R. Tolkien’s hand-painted watercolours for ‘The Hobbit’, Shakespeare’s First Folio and four thirteenth-century copies of Magna Carta, the Bodleian Library is one of the most magnificent libraries in the world with a fascinating history.

‘Bodleianalia’ delights in uncovering some of the lesser known facts about Britain’s oldest university library. Through a combination of lists, statistics, and bitesize nuggets of information, it reveals many of the quirks of fate, eccentric characters, and remarkable events which have contributed to the making of this renowned institution.

The perfect book for trivia-lovers and bibliophiles, it also offers readers a behind-the-scenes peek into the complex workings of a modern, world-class library in the twenty-first century.