SPACE FOR READING

Immediately on Broad Street, tucked inside the Weston Library, is a super little space where anyone can wander in, sit down, get their bearings and, if they wish, pick up a book. There’s no ticketing, no requirement to buy anything, and it’s a space that’s reimagined every six months to a new theme.

Tuesday 10 February saw the latest Space for Reading open to the public, with colourful cushions and an open shelf full of books nominated by sixth form pupils at Iffley Academy, a community specialist academy for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The outcome of a six-month-long co-curation between the Bodleian Library and Iffley Academy, pupils visited the Library while library staff visited the Academy, allowing trust and mutual discovery to develop.

Key people on the University side include Bodleian Library Public Engagement Manager Neil Stevenson and Arts Engagement Officer for the University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) Miranda Millward.

The lead teacher representing the pupils at Iffley Academy, Anna Hallmark, remarked that the Space for Reading ‘is full of joy and happiness’. On the day of the opening pupils were given a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Weston Library followed by a tea party with cake, held with everyone who had been involved including University of Oxford volunteers.

Anna says, ‘The theme of the project, neurodiversity and reading, has been fantastic for our students. They have had an opportunity to further understand neurodiversity, helping them to continue to recognise that differences in thinking, learning and communicating are natural and valuable parts of our human diversity. Discussions around this in school have been very powerful and rewarding – where differences have been celebrated! The research, exploration and selection of the texts has enabled the students to see themselves positively represented in literature, and this in turn has helped strengthen their self-esteem, sense of belonging, and encouraging pride in their own identity. The work around colour choices and sensory mapping tuned into the students’ likes and dislikes – giving amazing ownership and pride.’

Neil Stevenson on behalf of the Bodleian Library says of the broader Space for Reading concept, ‘It’s partly designed to make Blackwell Hall more engaging. A nice, bright, engaging space within a much bigger space, where you can get your bearings, perhaps before going into one of the exhibitions.’

Madeline Slaven, Head of Public Engagement for the Bodleian Library, says: ‘It’s a great privilege to have worked with Iffley Academy on this important project and their carefully considered input has been invaluable. To have everything come together so well and with so much colour and positive energy was a tonic amidst so much rain in February.’

The pupils will continue to work with the University, via a sensory mapping project at the Ashmolean Museum, while one of the pupils is directly helping Bodleian staff with the next theme for Space for Reading, which will have a natural world theme and open in July alongside a new exhibition concerning birds.

The Iffley Partnership between the Iffley Academy and the University celebrates its tenth birthday in 2026.