Oxford University's £78m Bodleian library plans on show

More than three million books will be moved out before work begins

Plans for the £78m restoration and renovation of the New Bodleian Library building have been unveiled by the University of Oxford.

The revamp will create storage for the library's special collections, which include precious manuscripts, books and maps.

The university said the plan would help expand public access to the site.

Planning permission and listed building consent would be applied for later this month, it added.

'Great collections'

Once completed, the building will be renamed the Weston Library, in honour of the £25m donation given in March 2008 by the Garfield Weston Foundation.

This major investment of £78m will enable the library both to protect its great collections and to open them up to readers, researchers and the public Sarah Thomas, Librarian

Three million books will need to be moved out of the library before work is carried out, with a temporary facility in place.

Sarah Thomas, Librarian at the Bodleian, said the improvements to the New Bodleian building were "long overdue".

She said: "Thanks to the generosity of the donors who have contributed to this project, we are at last able to move forward with this exciting and much-needed development.

"This major investment of £78m will enable the library both to protect its great collections and to open them up to readers, researchers and the public in an historic building that has been reinterpreted for the 21st century."

If planning permission is approved, the building will reopen in 2015.

Construction is currently taking place on a new storage facility for the Bodleian Library in Swindon.

When completed, it will hold eight million books.