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| 18 Nov 2025 | |
| Our Heritage |
The Union's Library and Archives team act as custodians for the Union's extensive collections. There's over 60,000 books on-site, as well as historic archival collections stored off-site, more modern documents on-site, and an extensive digital archive. The team aim to collect, conserve, and promote the collections, ably assisted by the Union's Library Committee.
Here's a look at some of the latest offerings from the team:
The history of the No Confidence DebateOur Library Assistant took a deep dive into the history of that most famous of Union traditions: The No Confidence Debate. Long standing tradition? Self-indulgent hyperbole? Commercialisation of debate? |
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Uniomachia: The schism in the UnionIt may come as no surprise that infighting and factionalism among the Union's various committees has a rich heritage behind it. However, you may be surprised to know that one attempt at healing a Union rift resulted in the publication of mock Homeric epic, featuring dog-Latin, notable figures of the day, many in-jokes, and all wrapped up in a classics primer. We've digitsed the whole thing and made an interactive version so you can immerse yourself in the world of 19th Century Union drama! Browse it here. You can also view the original in the library. |
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Digitised special collectionsThe Union partnered with the Bodleian Library to digitise unique volumes of The Oxford and Cambridge Undergradaute Journal. These journals date from the 19th century and offer a glimpse into the life of Oxford students from that period. This collection is the only one of its kind in existence and, by digitising it, the library team has made this resource available to scholars world wide. |
You can follow the regular updates from the team on Instagram and Facebook. We also aim to update our website with deeper explorations into the Union's archives on a quarterly basis.
The Union's historic archives are held at the Oxfordshire History Centre, with a catalogue available here. Note that access is granted by permission only: Please email the Head of Library and Collections to enquire.
For all enquiries, offers of support, complaints, poetry submissions etc. contact us at: library@oxford-union.org
Custodianship of our heritage: Over the summer of 2025, we comissioned a condition survey of the Pre-Raphaelite murals in the Old Library. More...
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