Applications

The Library is open by application (or by appointment to see specific material) to anyone undertaking academic work.

Any current member of the University of Oxford is welcome to apply to be a Library Reader: this applies to both undergraduates and graduates, as well as to fellows, tutors, researchers, and staff from other colleges and departments.

If you do not have a University of Oxford affiliation, please email reader.services@all-souls.ox.ac.uk for the link to the appropriate Reader application form. Independent researchers, private scholars, and students without a current University of Oxford affiliation should outline their need to use the Library's collections, and may be required to provide a letter of introduction from an academic referee. Please note that permission to use the Library may only be granted on a temporary basis, depending on research needs.

The Library traditionally supports those studying law and history, but the collections, especially the early printed books collections, are much broader in subject coverage. Although most college libraries are exclusively for their own members, the Library, All Souls College often acquires material which is not held elsewhere in Oxford, to allow anyone studying here to have access to otherwise inaccessible or unavailable items.

Applications are closed for the summer but will be available again closer to the beginning of Michaelmas term. 

If over the summer you require use of a book only held at All Souls College, please contact reader.services@all-souls.ox.ac.uk with the bibliographic details of the book (author, title, shelfmark, and SOLO permalink) and your availability.

Registered Readers are required to renew their access every academic year; renewal forms will remain open for Readers who would like to renew their access ahead of the academic year 2024/25. Please note that the Library will be closed to Readers until the end of September 2024, and your access will be only renewed closer to the beginning of Michaelmas term.

For those Readers with a current University of Oxford affiliation, please click here for the renewal form. 

For those Readers without a current University of Oxford affiliation, please click here for the renewal form. 

The Library’s Rules of Conduct, which Library Readers must follow, may be found here: https://library.asc.ox.ac.uk/rules_of_conduct.html