Julian Blackwell, President of the famous chain of booksellers, Blackwell's, has donated £5m towards the redevelopment of the New Bodleian Library in Oxford city centre - a renovation that will transform the housing of the Bodleian’s priceless collections.
The entrance hall of the redeveloped New Bodleian Library will be named Blackwell Hall in honour of Julian Blackwell.
"Julian Blackwell’s gift will help transform the New Bodleian from a book fortress into an inviting and inspiring space for readers," said Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian.
"The Blackwell Hall will welcome visitors to exhibitions and events that celebrate the book, and will serve as the entrance to the New Bodleian for those doing advanced scholarly research."
The gift cements the relationship between the Bodleian Library and the University of Oxford with Blackwell’s, the library’s neighbour and long-established partner, which opened its Broad Street store in 1879. Blackwell's operates over 60 bookshops throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
The 400-year old Bodleian is globally acknowledged to be one of the greatest libraries in the world. Its collections include the papers of six British prime ministers; a Gutenberg Bible; the earliest surviving book written wholly in English; a quarter of the world’s original copies of the Magna Carta; the original manuscript of Frankenstein; and over 10,000 medieval manuscripts.
