The Bodleian Library — "the Bod" to Oxford students — is one of the oldest and most venerable research libraries in Europe, founded in its current form in 1602. The complex of buildings in the centre of Oxford includes the medieval Duke Humfrey's Library, the Jacobean Schools Quadrangle (the rectangular courtyard with the Tower of the Five Orders), and the circular Radcliffe Camera next door. Guided tours let visitors into the areas normally restricted to academic readers.
Duke Humfrey's Library is the highlight: a long gallery lined from floor to ceiling with shelved books, illuminated by soft light from its painted ceiling and its tall windows, with row upon row of dark wooden reading desks below. It dates from the 15th century and has barely changed since. The library also runs an exhibition space where manuscripts, rare books and treasures from the collections are regularly on display. The gift shop on the ground floor is one of the better ones in Oxford, stocked with reproductions, cards and books about the library itself.