The
Bodleian Library (, ), the main
research library of the
University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 12 million items, it is the second biggest library in Britain after the
British Library. Under the
Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 it is one of six
legal deposit libraries for works published in the United Kingdom and under Irish Law it is entitled to request a copy of each book published in the Republic of Ireland. Known to Oxford scholars as "Bodley" or "the Bod", it operates principally as a
reference library and, in general, documents may not be removed from the reading rooms.