Oxford.

Oxford's historic research library occupies several buildings around the university centre. A guided tour is the way to see its famous old rooms; public Weston Library spaces offer a different visit.

The Bodleian is where Oxford's working library history becomes tangible. Duke Humfrey's Library and the Radcliffe Camera are part of the historic complex, while the Weston Library provides public spaces. Decide first whether you want a tour of old reading rooms or a shorter public visit, because the buildings do not share the same access rules.

The Bodleian is the University of Oxford's main research library, but it is not a single room or building. Its historic core includes Duke Humfrey's Library and the Schools Quadrangle, with the Radcliffe Camera adding a highly visible later landmark. The Weston Library belongs to the same wider library system and has public spaces of its own. This spread of buildings matters when planning a visit: the dramatic exterior of the Radcliffe Camera can be seen while walking through the university quarter, but its interior and the Old Library require a guided tour. The Bodleian also remains a working research institution, so its rooms are governed by readers' needs as well as public interest. Look at the buildings as successive answers to Oxford's expanding need for books and study space, then choose the visitor format that matches what you actually want to see.

• Duke Humfrey's Library is one of the historic rooms on the guided-tour route.
• The Radcliffe Camera's circular form anchors the surrounding university streets.
• The Weston Library has public ground-floor spaces.

Book a Bodleian tour for the Old Library or Radcliffe Camera interiors.

Use the Weston Library for public spaces without making a historic-room tour the whole plan.