Part 23: Curators of the University Libraries

24.1. The Curators of the University Libraries shall consist of:

(1) the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) who shall be chair;

(2) one of the Proctors or the Assessor as may be agreed between them;

(3)–(6) four persons appointed by Council, of whom one shall be a member both of Council and of its Planning and Resource Allocation Committee, and of whom two shall be external persons;¹

(7)–(10) one member from each of the four divisional boards, appointed by their respective boards;

(11) a person appointed by the Continuing Education Strategic Management Board;

(12) the Head of Gardens, Libraries and Museums;

(13)–(16) four members of Congregation elected by Congregation;

(17) a person elected by the Conference of Colleges;

(18), (19) two sabbatical trustees of Oxford University Student Union.

24.2. The curators shall have power to co-opt not more than two additional members for such periods as the curators may determine from time to time.

24.3. The curators under regulation 24.1 (3)–(16) above shall hold office for four years and shall be re-eligible, and the curators under (17) and (18) shall hold office for one year and shall be re-eligible; save that in every case the tenure of office of appointed and elected curators shall be subject to their retaining the qualifications by virtue of which they were appointed or elected.

24.4. Bodley's Librarian shall be secretary to the curators.

24.5. No student member shall be present for the discussion of, or receive the papers or minutes relating to, reserved business as defined in regulation 7 of the Regulations for Council.

24.6. In fulfilment of their responsibilities, under Council, for the safe keeping, preservation, orderly administration, finance, and general policy of the collections, libraries, and other units within the Bodleian Libraries in accordance with section 3 of Statute VIII, the curators shall be responsible, under Council:

(1) for ensuring that provision is made for the University's library and information requirements for teaching and research;

(2) for advising Council on any other proposals involving the use of resources in the University for library and information provision for teaching and research;

(3) for ensuring that the University's major research libraries are maintained as a national and international scholarly resource;

(4) for advising Council as necessary on the University's trusteeship of the collections held in its libraries, including, where appropriate, advising on the need for specialist legal or financial advice;

(5) for advising Council, as appropriate, on the application of any aspect of library and information service policy to university libraries and information services not within the Bodleian Libraries;

(6) for making, amending, and publishing regulations, subject to approval by Council, for the control, management, and security of the use of the facilities of the Bodleian Libraries;

(7) for making, amending, and publishing rules of conduct relating to the conduct of readers in the Bodleian Libraries;

(8) for such other responsibilities as may be determined by Council from time to time.

24.7. In fulfilment of their responsibilities under section 4 of Statute VIII, the Curators shall also have authority, under Council:

(1) to make financial provision, from funds made available to them by Council or from other sources, for such libraries and services as are determined by Council to be part of the Bodleian Libraries;

(2) to determine the opening and operating hours of the libraries and services within the Bodleian Libraries;

(3) to determine policy relating to the admission of readers to the libraries and services within the Bodleian Libraries;

(4) to make arrangements for the acquisition, development, management, and disposition of collections in the libraries and services within the Bodleian Libraries;

(5) to make arrangements for, or in other ways to facilitate, the preservation of materials in the University's library collections;

(6) to make arrangements for the provision of electronic information resources for the University.

24.8. The curators shall approve arrangements for the delegation of appointments within the Bodleian Libraries, on condition that the appointment of senior library staff at grade ALC6 shall be subject to the approval of the curators on the recommendation of Bodley's Librarian.

24.9. The curators shall have authority under Council to make such other arrangements as are necessary to fulfil their responsibilities and shall have such other powers as may be laid down by statute or regulation.

24.10. There shall be a University Archives Subcommittee of the Curators of the University Libraries.

24.11. The subcommittee shall:

(1) provide advice and guidance to the curators on matters of policy concerning the University Archives;

(2) receive an annual report from the Keeper of the Archives on the work of the Archives;

(3) receive representations concerning the Archives from relevant bodies and parties;

(4) serve as a point of communication and advice for other parts of the University on matters connected with the Archives and the preservation of and access to the University's administrative records;

(5) report, as appropriate and at least once a year, to the curators of the University Libraries.

24.12. The subcommittee shall consist of:

(1) a Curator of the University Libraries appointed by the curators, who shall chair the subcommittee;

(2) the Registrar or a person appointed by the Registrar;

(3) the Keeper of Special Collections;

(4) the Head of Archives and Modern Manuscripts;

(5) a member of the History Faculty appointed by the Board of that Faculty;

(6) a person appointed by the curators from among members of the divisions not otherwise represented on the subcommittee;

(7) an external member with professional expertise and experience in the administration of archives appointed by the curators.

24.13. The Keeper of the Archives shall be secretary to the subcommittee.

24.14. The members under regulation 24.12 (1) and (4)-(6) above shall hold office for three years and shall be re-eligible.

1 Council has agreed (1) that one of the external members should be someone with experience of managing a major research library, and (2) that it should also appoint a person with experience in the application of IT to libraries.