Broad Street Site

The Balliol Broad Street site contains the original college buildings, including the College’s dining hall (commonly just called ‘Hall’) and library, it is a place that many get to know well during their time at Balliol.

Directions to the Broad Street side can be found here and a college map can be found here. More information about disabled access can be found here.

The Library

The library at Main Site is open 24/7 for most of the year, with occasional closed periods that are advertised. Although all of the library is open to postgraduates, there is a specific graduate reading room that is not for undergraduates. With your university card, you can use the self-checkout system to borrow ten books for a fortnight at a time, and most books may be renewed unless reserved by another reader. There is a fine of 20p per book per day for overdue books.

All books borrowed during term are due back on Wednesday of 8th week. Books may be borrowed for the vacation from Monday of 8th week. All books borrowed for the vacation are due back on the Monday of first week. It can be a nice place to work, though it will likely be packed full of undergrads (especially during Trinity Term).

If there is a book you need for your course which is not available from either the College Library or any of the other libraries to which you have access it is worth inquiring whether College Library would consider acquiring it. You can do so by e-mailing the title, author, and date of publication to the librarian. The librarians are incredibly friendly and are more than happy to help with even the most seemingly trivial questions.  

More information can be found here.

The Hall

During term times, good value lunches and dinners are served in the college Dining Hall, in an informal canteen style. Lunch is served 12.30-1.30 and dinner 6.30-7.30 (except on Tuesdays, when normal Hall is served from 6.15-7.15). There is always a vegetarian & vegan option. For more information about allergies and for menus see here. 

The easiest way to pay for Hall is via your Bod card, which must be topped up before you pay. You can put money on your card here. 

On Tuesday evenings there is also a Formal Hall, which is waited on. It must be booked by noon the day before. As it is a more formal occasion, most people attending will dress up, with men wearing suits and women the equivalent.

College Chapel

It is a welcoming space for all members of Balliol College, no matter their religious (or lack of) beliefs. It is open most of the year and can be a wonderful place to escape the noise and distractions of Oxford.

 The college choir sings at the weekly services which all members of Balliol, no matter their singing abilities, are welcome to join. More information can be found here.

College Office

The college office runs all the administration for students at Balliol. If you ever have any concerns about your course, financial worries or general questions about your academic studies in Oxford they can be a really great source of information. They can be directly contacted by this email address.