Sir – How encouraging it is to read that the New Bodleian Library is going to get a revamp. When I moved to Oxford a few years ago I was surprised to see how drab and unwelcoming the famous building looked.

Broad Street has some lovely, colourful features but places like the Bodleian do not do it any favours at the moment.

Of course it would be nice for a more attractive building to take the place of the so-called ‘book fortress’ but anything that creates more light and space at this site — and makes it accessible to the public in a city where university property is often off-limits — seems sensible.

Jenny Barraclough, Oxford