Heritage libraries are a unique historical resource: in contrast to research libraries across the world, their library collections are preserved in the places where they were assembled and read. In those locations they reflect a rich history of social exchange.

This panel talk explores what it means to engage with books in a heritage setting, and how we might better enable contemporary engagement with our histories of books and reading.
Reading the Room is a collaborative research project between the University of Oxford, Coventry University and the National Trust.
Abigail Williams is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature at the University of Oxford.
Alice Leonard is Research Fellow at Coventry University.
Amy Solomons is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the University of Oxford.
Tim Pye is National Curator for Libraries at the National Trust.