Reading and research are central to being a student at Oxford, especially with the nearly unlimited access that comes with the Bodleian Libraries. The issue, then, is how to maintain that working routine when students leave for break, one that becomes more difficult when travelling abroad. Strangely enough, the sentiment that there are simply too many books to carry does not appear to be a major concern, if ever brought up when discussing travel. Yet each time I mentioned it to a fellow international student, I received enthusiastic, empathetic agreement.
When my parents asked me if I wanted to go home for the break, my first concern was not the price of tickets, the possible conflict with any personal plans, or even the agonizing 12-hour flight. Instead, it was the panic that, as an English student, I could not possibly bring back all of my reading.
For many international students, studying abroad is an opportunity to access a broad, diverse scope of information. Among countless other facilities, as one of the six Legal Deposit Libraries, Oxford undeniably provides accessibility and options to a wide range of books, journals, and databases. Regardless, accessibility remains a significant challenge to international students, travelling home for breaks, that has not fully been bridged. The difficulties seem to multiply in size and intensity for courses that have had a largely domestic student body.
I did eventually fly home for Christmas, carrying a suitcase full of books home, then one of an even larger size back. The struggles began at the end of Michaelmas term with packing. Digitised lists like ORLO or the Online Access option in SOLO are incredibly useful in providing accessibility away from Oxford, although not always guaranteed. I had most of my reading lists digitised, though not all through ORLO, with one list in particular being a special request sent to my college librarian one day before the end of term, explaining my lack of accessibility overseas. The list contained 24 items, which would not have been pleasant to pack into a carry-on suitcase.
Books without digital access, or those containing notes and bookmarks, would need to be sorted according to priority, while the rest remained here. Most notoriously, first-year English undergraduates may recognize the necessity (and weight) of having both Mitchell & Robinson and Treharne, only one of which is accessible online through SOLO. Additionally, the textbooks became the titular dead weights on the way back to Oxford, with check-in luggage restricted to 23kg. With Treharne alone over a kilogram, there was a physical, substantial limitation on how much could be brought back and forth. All of this is without even beginning to account for possible print disabilities.
Online access is one solution to this issue. SOLO undoubtedly has facilitated online access to a vast range of sources, but it does not quite cover Oxford reading lists, which, again, feels accustomed to its students having access to most if not all texts in physical copies. While SOLO has the option to request digital scans, library staff certainly could not be expected to be present throughout the break, the service being unavailable from 17th December until 2nd January.
Some texts, previously available, have become unavailable through the electronic legal deposit system due to the 2023 cyber attack on the British Library, with restoration still being an ongoing process. Others cannot be accessed without a VPN, and even then, may remain restricted. Some simply are not digitised, due to practical or legal reasons.
Not every book can be digitised, either due to the material or condition of the book. The time and funding required for quality scans, or the complex copyright issues and restrictions that ebooks and digital archives must navigate remain obstacles in the way of solutions. When a text is entirely unavailable online, the option for finding a physical copy raises financial difficulties if there is a lack of second-hand resources. Even then, the option to borrow from a library or to purchase books in English is often restricted to English-speaking countries. This issue goes beyond Oxford and international students. Digital archives are often at legal risk, with a recent example being the Internet Archive lawsuit, which removed over 500,000 books due to copyright in June 2024. Internet Archive invited users to share their stories using the website, revealing accessibility issues that range from geographical, financial, or temporal, such as out-of-print sources now being barred from use.
While Oxford students have the option to return by the end of break to return to the Bodleian Libraries, the same cannot be said everywhere else.
Although the degree to which international students, Oxford or not, may be affected by limited accessibility differs based on their course and home country, it nevertheless permeates the experience of studying abroad. At times, issues like these seem only applicable to the minority, especially for courses that majorly consist of domestic students who do not need to travel far during breaks. However, the development of tools like the internet exists in part for the better distribution of knowledge and to dismantle obstacles to education. In adapting and growing alongside international scholars, there is an opportunity to create a more inclusive, accessible environment.
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