Bodleian revamp approved

Planning permission's been given for a £78m revamp of one of Oxford's world-famous libraries.

The outside of the New Bodleian on Broad Street is going to be restored as part of the project which is due to start in 2011 and be completed by 2015, when it will be renamed the Weston Library.

More than three and a half million books have got to be moved out of the building before work can start.

The New Bodleian building was built in the 1930s as a huge 'book fortress'.  The revamp will modernise the building as well as provide better facilities for students and researchers.

Sarah Thomas, Bodley's Librarian, said: "Securing planning permission is an important milestone in this exciting library project. The architects, our Broad Street neighbours, library staff, and countless others have all collaborated in this visionary scheme.

"We've worked to ensure that the redeveloped building would appeal to academics and scholars but also would contribute to the city as an inviting space to share the Bodleian’s treasures, in dedicated exhibition galleries, with the general public."

Pictured is an artist's impression of how the New Bodleian will look after the revamp