Richard Ovenden
@richove.bsky.social
Bodley's Librarian, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk & Head of Gardens, Libraries & Museums @ox.ac.uk OBE. FSA. FRHistS, FRSE. President, DPC. Fellow, @Ballioloxford.Bsky.social. Member, @AmPhilsociety.Bsky.social Hon. Fellow @britishacademy.bsky.social
Great piece from @hetanshah.bsky.social in @financialtimes.com on the future of the Humanities. Hope the new Cabinet will read this! giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
We need humanities more than ever in the age of AI
Subjects like literature, languages and history are vital to a thoughtful and prosperous society
giftarticle.ft.com
Much has been written about the architectural statement of the planned new Trump Presidential Library, but in this piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social I highlight the way he is undermining the legislation that makes presidential records available to the people. observer.co.uk/style/featur...
Trump’s presidential library isn’t for the people. It’s f...
The purpose of a presidential library is to allow future generations to pass judgment and take lessons from history. Donald Trump has other ideas
observer.co.uk
I wrote about the democratic deficit created by politicians using ephemeral messaging systems in @financialtimes.com back in 2020 - dismayed that the problem hasnt been dealt with by the Cabinent Office. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Keir Starmer uses disappearing messages, admits Downing Street
Publication of latest batch of Mandelson files triggers fresh scrutiny of government record-keeping
giftarticle.ft.com
Great to see the fabulous new book, 'Prophecy: Prediction, power and the fight for the future' by @carissaveliz.bsky.social cited by @gilliantett.bsky.social in her column in @financialtimes.com giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Don’t bet on Trump reining in the prediction markets
The sector is expanding at breakneck speed in the US
giftarticle.ft.com
In this coming @ftweekend.com I have reviewed the edition (from Aperture) of the Diaries of the great photographer Josef Koudelka. For anyone interested in photography it is a must read …
The Muses have returned @bodleian.ox.ac.uk! On show from next week in the Weston before going onto the roof of the Clarendon Building! Can and get up close and personal with them before they go aloft!
On Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday I share these photos (by Martin Parr) of him and Stephen Hawking at the opening of the Weston Library @bodleian.ox.ac.uk in 2015 - a career highlight. Happy Birthday Sir David!
Some, but not many tickets left for this coming Friday's 'Wealth of Nations at 250' free event @bodleian.ox.ac.uk with Profs Joseph Stiglitz, Emma Rothschild, Sir Paul Collier, and Baronness Dambisa Moyo ... while stocks last ... visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/2026/m...
The Wealth of Nations at 250
Join us for a fascinating panel discussion to mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of 'The Wealth of Nations'
visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Prof Mercedes García-Arenal giving the second of her Lyell Lectures @bodleian.ox.ac.uk on Muslim Books in Christian hands in medieval and renaissance Spain
Roll up, roll up for the 2026 Lyell Lectures! These will be given by Prof Mercedes García-Arenal on 'Muslim Books in Christian Hands: From Iberian Moriscos to Early Modern Europe' @bodleian.ox.ac.uk on 28, 30 April, & 5, 7. 11, May at 5pm. Free, but book! visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/lyell-lectur...
The Lyell Lectures 2026
The 2026 Lyell Lectures, hosted by the Bodleian Libraries and delivered by Professor Mercedes García-Arenal
visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Our newest photographic acquisition highlighted in @thetimes.com www.thetimes.com/uk/photograp...
‘Amazing’ unseen photos by Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller unearthed
The wartime images, processed and printed by the photographers’ assistant Roland Haupt, have been described as an ‘empirical time capsule’
thetimes.com
I review ‘The art of the book’, the new history of @thamesandhudson.bsky.social in today’s @theobserveruk.bsky.social. It is a superbly illustrated volume - celebrating high quality-book making that brought ideas, art & culture to a wide audience at affordable prices. A gorgeous book!
My review of 'The Art of the Book' which celebrates the 75th anniversary of @thamesandhudson.bsky.social is in @theobserveruk.bsky.social. It is a sumptuous book about the power of books (& the power of reading): & a publishing house as a cultural institution. observer.co.uk/culture/book...
How Thames & Hudson brought art to the masses | The Observer
The Art of the Book reveals how, over 75 years, the publisher has changed the way we think about culture
observer.co.uk
Vielen Dank, dass Sie auf Bedrohte Bücher hingewiesen haben – das verdeutlicht die gesellschaftliche Bedeutung der Wissenserhaltung durch Bibliotheken und Archive – sie sind die Infrastruktur der Demokratie!
Suhrkamp Verlag@suhrkamp.de · 5mo agoWolfram Weimer hält die Aufbewahrung von Druckwerken für nicht mehr zeitgemäß – und stellt damit den Erweiterungsbau der @dnb-aktuelles.bsky.social in Leipzig infrage. Wir empfehlen ihm daher die Lektüre von Richard Ovendens »Bedrohte Bücher«, übersetzt von Ulrike Bischoff: shrk.vg/BedrohteBuec...
Greta piece on our new exhibition @bodleian.ox.ac.uk 'Pets and their people' curated by Prof Charles Foster (@exeter.ox.ac.uk) - astonishing array of materials from across our collections, and some wonderful loans too ... www.thetimes.com/culture/art/...
Why do I love my dog? Because she helps me access my real, primal self
A new exhibition at the Bodleian, Oxford, explores our obsession with pets. We don’t know who we are any more, says the curator Charles Foster, who once lived as a badger
thetimes.com
Vielen Dank für die Empfehlung von Bedrohte Bücher, herausgegeben von den netten Leuten bei @suhrkamp.de!
Heike W (she/her)@haselnusstafel.bsky.social · 5mo agoIch empfehle dazu „Bedrohte Bücher“ von Richard Ovenden. www.hugendubel.de/de/buch_gebu...
Fantastic to be in conversation this evening @ucl.ac.uk at the Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism with Colleen Shogan, former Archivist of the United States on the place of archives in democratic societies.
Pleased to be speaking at the House of Lords yesterday on the theme of Libraries and the growth economy- organised by @librariesconnected.bsky.social @rluk.ac.uk @ebscouk.bsky.social @cilip.bsky.social and to catch up with old friend Valerie Vaz MP
Delighted to be in conversation with Colleen Shogan, former Archivist of the United States, for this event @ucl.ac.uk this coming Thursday evening. Some places still left! www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...
The State of the United States: Safeguarding Knowledge: When Memory Becomes Political
This event is organised by the UCL Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism.
ucl.ac.uk
Thanks for upping this, John. #BurningtheBooks keeps being an authoritarian priority across the globe ...
John Tweedie@johntweedie.bsky.social · 5mo agoIf you have just over an hour to spare, it's well worth watching this talk from Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social of the Bodleian Library. Burning the Books: knowledge under attack from Ancient Assyria to the age of AI. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c_A...
This is an excellent thread by my colleague @kastrel.bsky.social (in the Health Care Libraries team @bodleian.ox.ac.uk)
Kat Steiner🔸@kastrel.bsky.social · 6mo agoCan ChatGPT generate me a file with all the references from a bibliography I have in word? I tried this out because I'd heard from multiple sources that it could, and I teach and use software for managing references, and this would be a really useful thing to be able to do. #medlibs (thread)
Free people read freely - unless you live in a council where political interference puts a stop to it. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Reform-run council says free library scheme for refugees ‘is not value for money’
Party withdraws all Lancashire libraries from City of Sanctuary UK programme that supports new arrivals to UK
theguardian.com
Learn about some significant new finds in Bodleian Libraries’ Chinese collection including an important missing page from the world’s earliest text of Cantonese opera safely hidden inside a 40-volume imperial dictionary, two leaves of a rare copper plate print album commissioned by Kangxi Emperor.
New discoveries in Oxford's Chinese collections (Mamtimyn Sunuodula)
YouTube video by Henrike Lähnemann
youtube.com
