The Theobauld Library

Often described as the heart of Teliávus University, the Theobauld Library has amassed an extensive collection, encompassing millions of books, scrolls, manuscripts, clay tablets and other less standardised forms of writing. The library acts as the main repository of written knowledge for all of the courses offered by the university, along with the main academic research areas studied by the faculties. It is renowned in academic circles for the quality of its collections, which are thought to rival, and in some subject areas surpass the splendour of the collections held in the Bodleian and Smithsonian Libraries.
The Theobauld was founded in 1659, when a wealthy widow by the name of Duchess Benedicta Theobauld, much to the chagrin of her four living children, chose to distribute the majority of the family’s wealth to charitable and, so-called, virtuous causes. Whilst many thousands of pounds where disbursed to all manner of initiatives and organisations, the lion’s share of the fortune was donated to Teliávus University, to found a proper library that all students of the institution would be able to benefit from. Since then, the library building has born the family name of the Theobauld family, with the Rare Books Reading Room, being dubbed the Benedicta Room, as befitting of such a philanthropic bibliophile as the Duchess.
As part of the establishment of the library, the Duchess’ endowment also provided for a head librarian in perpetuity to oversee the care of the volumes in the Theobauld’s collections. Therefore, since its foundation, the library has been run by Theobauld's Librarian, regarded as the most senior librarian in the University, who oversees the work of an army of other librarians under their charge.

Purpose / Function

As its name suggests, the Theobauld Library was founded specifically to provide a space for Teliávus University that could store and provide access to written collections that all students and academics of the university could access. Part of the rational for Duchess Benedicta making her endowment gift to the University, was her own experience of studying at St Lucia's College, where at the time that she was a student, there was no central library, and students and academics of one college could only gain access to the library collections of another college with express written permission of their college’s Head or Librarian.
The foundation of the Theobauld removed a great deal of these restrictions, especially through the fact that a large portion of the donated money was to buy the majority of the collections held at the time by the individual colleges, to furnish the library with volumes as soon as it was ready to open its doors.

by C J Pyrah

Sample of Cuneiform Text held in the Theobauld's Collections

Collections

As befitting its role as a library for the whole of the university, the Theobauld has extensive collections covering all the areas in which teaching takes place within the wider institution, though the majority of its collections cater for the eleven main subject areas that are formed into the Faculties.
In addition to the subject area collections, there is a pan-subject collection, the Rare Books Collection, which encompasses items from all subject areas that are deemed to be of particular historical importance, value, or in need of special conservation treatment. As well as being kept in a more environmentally secure conditions, access to these books is also limited to those who have received special permission from either a senior member of one of the Faculties or Schools, a Head of College or Theobauld's Librarian.
The Rare Books section is not the only part of the library to which access is restricted. Items which, for whatever reason, have been assessed to be dangerous, are kept in an underground part of the Theobauld, known as the Bowdler Collection, a literary joke based off the premise that instead of destroying the volumes held within the collection, the Theobauld’s policy has been to censor any knowledge of the items within, to bowdlerise literary history. Access to the Bowdler Collection can only be granted by a Head of Faculty, Theobauld's Librarian, the Vice-Chancellor or the Chancellor of Teliávus University. 

by C J Pyrah

Impression from a Clay Seal held in the Theobauld's Collections

Alterations

The main structure of the Theobauld has been altered very little since its construction, with the only notable building work to have taken place in the complex, aside from general maintenance, being the expansion of the underground levels, to provide more storage space for the library’s growing collections, and the Theobauld being one of the first of the University’s buildings to have electric lights installed, to minimise the risk of fire.

Architecture

On first seeing the Theobauld Library, no one would blame you for initially thinking that the building was instead a church or cathedral, thanks to the splendour of its neoclassical architecture and its enormous central dome, which gives it a very ecclesiastical feel. The architectural references to Renaissance style church and cathedral architecture are quite deliberate, as Duchess Benedicta Theobauld instructed that her money should go to create a temple to learning, which the architect responsible for the building, a Mr Horatio Morello took rather literally.
Inside, the Theobauld is a rabbits warren of low ceilinged floors both within the building itself and above ground where the items themselves are stored, punctuated by grand reading rooms several floors in height, sprawling amongst the book stacks. The dome of the building, houses the administrative offices of the Theobauld, with the office of Theobauld’s Librarian being at the very top of the edifice.

Tourism

Like other grand buildings that make up Teliávus University, such as the Buchanan Museum, the Theobauld Library is an attraction that draws curious tourists that visit the town of Harthill. However, unlike the Buchanan Museum, access to the Theobauld is much more heavily restricted, with entry to the library only being granted to non-students or academics via a daily guided tour, expanding to twice a day out of term time, which runs throughout the year.
People who are not students or academics of Teliávus University, must secure written permission to enter and examine any of the collections from a senior member of one of the University’s Faculties or constituent colleges, and on the whole, such permissions are only granted to visiting scholars or students from other academic institutions.

Founding Date

Construction completed in 1664.

Type

Library

Parent Location

Evansfarm

Ruling/Owning Rank

Theobauld's Librarian

Owning Organization

Teliávus University

by C J Pyrah

View of the Theobauld Library's Front Entrance