The Fellows’ Library is open to visitors by appointment only. We are unable to accommodate anyone who arrives unannounced, so please do get in contact in advance. There is an exception for current Fellows of the College, who may enter whenever the library is open during the day. Please note that the Fellows’ Library operates independently from the Bodleian Libraries.
Around 80% of the books in the Fellows’ Library are listed in Oxford’s SOLO catalogue, with varying levels of detail. Our Rare Books Cataloguer is working towards the completion of the catalogue, but a significant number are still recorded only in our card catalogue, which staff can search on your behalf, or in the English Short-Title Catalogue (ESTC). Please email the College Librarian, Mx Owen McKnight, for advice on finding books in our collection.
Can we answer your enquiry without a visit?
Library staff will be pleased to assist with your research, and sometimes we can help you without the need to travel in to Oxford.
If you have an enquiry about copy-specific information – provenance, annotations, bindings, or bibliographic variants – but you cannot find confirmation from the catalogue, library staff can check a book on your behalf. We can also send photographs by email. You are, of course, still very welcome to arrange a visit for firsthand confirmation.
When a particular book is also held by the Bodleian Libraries, we may ask you to consult their copy instead, as their reading rooms are staffed for longer periods of the working day. Note that books printed before 1920 often have multiple records on SOLO. You are nonetheless welcome to visit to see details specific to copies held in Jesus College.
Library staff may decide that a book is too fragile to be consulted without risking further damage. In this case, we reserve the right not to make the book available, and we may direct you to an alternative copy. None of our early printed books has been digitised, although digital versions of the same texts from other libraries may be available.
Similarly, a book may be unavailable while it undergoes conservation treatment, or while on loan for an exhibition, in which case staff will advise on the expected date for its return.
Making an appointment to visit the library
Appointments to visit the Fellows’ Library are available between 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, depending on staff availability. In particular, please note that the College closes at Christmas and Easter, and the Fellows’ Library is often closed for appointments during August.
To request an appointment, please email the College Librarian, Mx Owen McKnight, ideally at least one week in advance. We understand that researchers often visit more than one library while in Oxford, and that you may be waiting for confirmation of appointments elsewhere.
Let us know the dates you plan to visit and the books you want to see. Specifically, please list the shelfmarks of the books, together with their titles, so that we can confirm we are fetching the correct items. If you are interested in a range of material rather than (or as well as) a specific item, we are happy to discuss by email what relevant material we hold.
It is helpful if you can give an indication of how long you expect your visit to last, whether 15 minutes to check a title-page or 3 hours to read a text. You can usually extend your appointment on the day, but this helps staff manage their time.
You do not need a letter of introduction, but it is helpful to know your institutional affiliation (if any) as well as the context for your research, as staff may be aware of other material of interest.
Arriving for your appointment
You can find directions to Jesus College here. Please note that no parking is available on site.
If you are delayed, please email library@jesus.ox.ac.uk or telephone (01865) 279704.
The main entrance to Jesus College is on Turl Street. If the entrance gate is closed, please ring the bell on the left and a member of the Lodge team will let you in. Please enter even if the noticeboard says that the College is currently closed to the public.
The Turl Street entrance to Jesus College.
Inside, to the left, you will find the Lodge (main reception). Tell the member of staff on duty that you have an appointment, and ask them to call the Library. Please be prepared to show your Bodleian Reader card or other photographic identification.
Once your appointment has been confirmed, a member of library staff will meet you at the Lodge and introduce themselves. You will then walk over together to the Fellows’ Library.
There are four steps up and four steps down on the way, followed by four flights of five wide steps (with handrails) up to the Fellows’ Library. Please let us know in advance if this will pose a problem, or if you need an adjustable desk or ergonomic chair, so that we can book a different room for your appointment. There is more information on the layout of the College in our access guide.
There are no lockers but, as you will be accompanied throughout your visit, you may bring coats and small bags into the Fellows’ Library. There is an umbrella stand on the ground floor of Staircase 10. Library staff may ask to see your photographic identification again, and you are encouraged to sign the visitors’ book.
We keep a record of your visit for security, including your name and any institutional affiliation, the date of your visit, and the books which you consulted. We keep this information indefinitely but we will not share it outside the College unless required by law. Please note that CCTV is in use throughout Jesus College, including the Fellows’ Library, for safety and security.
Inside the Fellows’ Library
The Fellows’ Library is a historic room built in the 1670s. The ambient temperature varies between 12 and 22 degrees Celsius, but it can be significantly colder during winter. You may wish to dress accordingly.
We do not provide gloves, but instead ask that readers wash their hands before handling books. Library staff can direct you to washrooms in Staircase 11. Gender-neutral and disabled toilets are also available.
Reader’s desk.
The desk for visiting readers is in the central aisle. Unfortunately, neither the chair nor the desk can be adjusted. The member of staff who is invigilating will sit at a desk nearby. Please do ask them for assistance at any time. Note that not all staff will have a detailed knowledge of the collection. For practical reasons, we usually book one reader at a time, but Fellows of the College will be working in the library, and may bring in guests for brief tours during your visit.
If you need to leave the Fellows’ Library for any reason, including speaking on your phone, please ask the invigilator who can let you out, give you directions, and let you back in when you’re ready. If your visit is likely to take a number of hours across the day, please be aware that library staff take a break for lunch, and during this time you will need to vacate the library. You can arrange times for leaving and returning with staff on the day. When you return, report to the Lodge as you did on arrival.
Food and drink (including water) are prohibited in the Fellows’ Library. If you need food or drink for medical reasons, please let us know in advance of your visit so that we can make alternative arrangements. You are welcome to sit on a bench in one of our quadrangles to eat or drink, or use the café in the Cheng building, which is open from 9-5 daily during term time.
During your appointment
Books must be placed on foam rests or other supports. We can provide bookrests, snakeweights, pencils, a magnifying glass, and a ruler, as well as a lightsheet. If you find a book with unopened pages, please ask staff to cut them for you.
Pens and ink are prohibited in the Fellows’ Library. You may bring a pencil and paper, or staff can provide a pencil for you to use. Never mark any part of a book.
Library staff will be pleased to advise on appropriate handling. A sheet entitled ‘Information for using the collections’ is available. Let us know if you see tears, mould, or other damage.
There are no public-access computers in the Fellows’ Library, so you are encouraged to bring a laptop. There are power sockets in the floor for charging a laptop or phone. Wireless internet access is available, either through eduroam or public access Sky WiFi (The Cloud).
You can request to see more than one book at once; if you need to see more than five books, some will be put back before others are brought out. If you find another reference to follow up during your visit, please tell the staff member so that they can fetch it for you during your visit. Shelflists and a card catalogue are available, along with a small number of printed reference sources.
When you have finished, please tell the staff member on duty, and they will accompany you back to the Lodge. If you have made an appointment to return the next day, you may leave your notes with the books. If you think you will need to return in the future, please arrange another appointment by email.
Photography
Self-service photography is permitted, either for private study or publication. We can provide paper slips for recording shelfmarks and page numbers to help you identify images; the slips also have printed measurements.
If you need professional photography from a book, we can commission this on your behalf from Imaging Services at the Bodleian Libraries. You will be responsible for making payment directly to the Bodleian.
Most of the books in the Fellows’ Library are out of copyright. This means that neither you nor the College can claim copyright in photographs from our books. Although no copyright statement is required when reproducing images, best practice is to make reference to Jesus College Oxford, and to cite the shelfmark.
You may take photographs of the interior of the Fellows’ Library and share them on social media, but commercial publication requires separate permission from the College Librarian and may incur a fee. Applications for filming should be made to the Director of Accommodation, Catering & Conferences.
After your visit
You are very welcome to follow up with any queries by email. As a courtesy, please let us know of anything you publish based on the collections in the Fellows’ Library. We are pleased to accept complimentary copies of books or offprints.
If we receive enquiries about the same, or similar, material, we may ask if you’re willing for us to put you in contact with another reader, but we will not share your details without your permission.
