Cookies

The Bodleian Libraries and Cookies

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that can be written and read by websites and stored by the browser on your computer, tablet or smartphone. They do a number of things including allowing access to some types of content and functionality to users, and collecting anonymous user information so that site owners can monitor the performance of their sites. They are a kind of 'memory' for a website that can help it respond appropriately to users and user behaviour.

The source of cookies and how long they will stay on your computer, tablet or smartphone for can vary.

Managing your cookies

We don't recommend that you block cookies because they are linked to the usability and functionality of websites and your experience of using our websites may suffer. However, if you want to block all cookies from your computer, tablet or smartphone, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org, which gives comprehensive information on your options.

If you choose, you can set your browser to tell you when cookies are sent to your computer or to give you the option of rejecting cookies. If you haven't done this, we will issue cookies when you visit the site.

Cookies on www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk 

A visit to www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk and its child websites will generate the following cookies automatically on arrival (see our website Terms of Use):

Passive cookies 

Cookie issuer Cookie name How long will the cookie last? What does it do?
Bodleian Libraries SQ_SYSTEM_SESSION From arrival on website until browser window is closed (session) This cookie allows website editors to log in to the editing software if needed. We have requested an alternative means of managing this from the suppliers responsible with the aim of removing this cookie.
Bodleian Libraries sq-active-remote-session From arrival on website until browser window is closed (session) Allows access to "Remote Content", e.g. content on the websites powered by external databases. If you block cookies, some of the remote website content on www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk websites may not work.
Google Analytics _ga 2 years

Anonymously tracks individual visitor behaviour on the websites so that we can see how the sites are being used. We only use this information for monitoring and improving our websites and content for the benefit of our users (you).

You can opt out of Google Analytics cookies completely (from all websites) by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

_gat 10 minutes
__utma 2 years from set/update
__utmb 30 mins from set/update
__utmc End of browser session
__utmt 10 minutes
__utmz 6 months from set/update
DoubleClick id 9 months

Anonymously tracks individual visitor behaviour across multiple websites to help Google to tailor advertising content, as well as to provide aggregate demographic information via Google Analytics. Advertisements are not shown on Bodleian Libraries websites, but advertisers may show you advertisements that are more-relevant to your interests based on your visit to Bodleian Libraries websites.

You can opt out of the DoubleClick cookie without opting out of Google's other cookies by visiting www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/opt-out.html - Google will still serve you advertisements as you browse the web; however they won't be tailored to your browsing behaviour.

ShareThis StareUT From arrival on website until browser window is closed (session)

Anonymously tracks user behaviour on the websites that allow you to share pages on social media using the ShareThis tool. Sharethis collect anonymous usage data to understand trends and to improve the relevance of their services and advertising.

Their full privacy policy and opt out instructions can be found at www.sharethis.com/legal/privacy. ShareThis also use Google Analytics, as described above.

__stid 1 year
__stgmap 1 week
__stdlxmap 1 week
__uset 1 day

Active cookies

These cookies are only generated if you choose to use the particular piece or type of content that they are associated with:

Cookie issuer Cookie name How long will the cookie last? What does it do?
LibraryH3lp libraryh3lp_jid 1 hour Provides a consistent and anonymous guest identification number for the duration of the chat and for up to 1 hour afterwards. For more information see https://docs.libraryh3lp.com/guest-cookies.html.

Cookies on Digital Bodleian

The following cookies apply to digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Cookie issuer Cookie name How long will the cookie last? What does it do?
digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk sessionid 2 weeks Keeps you signed into your Digital Bodleian account, so you don't need to log in every time you refresh the page.
digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk wpcc 1 year Keeps the cookie notification banner hidden once you've dismissed it.
digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk crsftoken 1 year Protects from CSRF attacks.

Cookies on the Bodleian Picture Library

The following cookies apply to www.bodleianimages.co.uk. All are issued by bodleianimages.co.uk, and are set to expire after one month. 

autoshow Autoshow similars
backgroundColor Bbackground colour of search results
basic Basic display of pricebook
basketSequence Sequence of items on the basket
bgcolor Background colour of search results
caption Autozoom window of assets has caption enabled
choice Lightbox/basket tab selected in overlay
colorDepth Colour depth of user's browser
delta Height of similar panels
expanded Extended display of pricebook
gallery ID of the selected gallery
grid_layout Selected layout in search result
grid_thumb Selected thumb size in search result
lang Name of the selected language
lang2 Name of the selected language
lightboxSequence Sequence of items on the lightbox
maximized Similars are maximized or not
minimizeOverlayInManager Minimize the lightbox/basket overlay in lightbox manager
PLUS_LDF_Display Display of pricebook
pullout Pullover menu on the search results page
screenResolution Screen resolution of user's browser
simPan Similars preview panel enabled 
sortMode Sort order of search results
username Username of the user
zoom Autozoom of assets in the search result

Website performance

If you choose to block cookies from your computer, tablet or smartphone, we cannot guarantee optimum site performance or access to all content.

The EU cookie legislation

We take the EU legislation on cookies seriously and will continue to improve the way we communicate about and use them in compliance with UK law. We are, for example, working with suppliers and content owners to remove unnecessary cookies. We are also updating internal policies to reflect the need to be aware of cookies and avoid their use where possible.

In addition, we will also review the list of cookies published here every 6 months to ensure that it reflects changes to the websites as much as possible. We can only guarantee that the descriptions of cookie purposes are accurate to the best of our knowledge.