Exhibitions and visiting
Exhibitions
Current exhibition
An Online Exhibition of Women’s History at St John’s
This online exhibition showcases both the history of
women at St John's College,
and the women within the collections. It has drawn together the College's collections from the Library,
Archive, and Pictures. The physical exhibition
was planned for Trinity Term 2020 in the Library & Study Centre, to coincide with the variety of events planned
to mark 40 Years of Women at St John's
College. Due to the current restrictions caused by the development of Covid-19, the closest approximation
achievable to a physical exhibition was this
online exploration of the women in the College's collections. While this provides an overview of what would have
been the exhibition, there are limits to
an online exhibition. The sense of wonder and engagement with collections that is magnified when you can see the
original object is difficult to capture in a digital
replica. However, there are benefits to digital exhibitions: images of multiple pages within a book can now be
displayed, and the exhibition can be visited
at any time (and in any location) to suit you.
View the online exhibition here on Prezzi here
We have a plain text accessible PDF version of the exhibition here.
Visit our Library Blog.
Previous exhibitions
2020 Stars & Surgery: History of Science Collections at St John’s College.
2019 Special Collections Today and Tomorrow: celebrates the opening of our state-of-the-art Library & Study Centre.
2019 Richard Murphy (1927-2018): celebrates the Anglo-Irish poet
2018 'By herself': rediscovering the history of women at St John's College, Oxford: an exhibition exploring the history of women at St John’s, from its founding in 1555 through to the modern day.
2017 Stories from the Shelves: exploring the history of St John's Library and its readers
2017 "excuse the scrawl": literary letters from St John's College special collections
2016/17 Always something new: Africa in the Special Collections of St John's College
2016 Do we need pictures?:illustrations in the earliest printed books
2015/16 In the Like Case: a 17th-century medical correspondence illustrated with early medical books
2015 Not An Illustration: abstract book art in livres d'artiste
2014/15 Visited by all the Gods: the context of the letters of W.B. Yeats
2014 The Field of Human Conflict: war through the ages
2013/14 Alpha to Zed: a classical alphabet
2013 The Path that Sinners Tread: the seven deadly sins
2012/13 Revolutions: astrology, astronomy & astronauts
2012 Liturgy: sex, violence & prayer
2011/12 Something Rich and Strange: the exploration of America
2011 Catching Breath: language & writing
2010 Birds, Bees & Bonnacons: zoological illustration
Exhibitions are open to all members of College and their guests, and alumni with up to three guests. Members of the public wishing to see an exhibition should contact the Librarian in advance.
Visiting the Library
Prospective students & members of the public
Prospective students are welcome to visit the Library during Library opening times. Other prospective visitors should email the Librarian to see if this is possible.
Academic researchers
Academic researchers are welcome to consult material not available elsewhere in the University. Please contact the Librarian to check the item is available and to make an appointment. Graduate students should bring a letter from their supervisor. Visitors requiring special access should make this clear when writing. Please note that the permission of the College will be needed for publication.
Alumni and members' visitors
Members may show friends or colleagues around the Library, and should always sign them into the Visitors' Book at the Desk. Guided tours for small groups may be arranged with the Librarian. Alumni are welcome to visit the library during normal opening hours, and to bring their families and friends, signing them in as guests.
