I cannot recall ever reading about the Great Bodleian Step-Ladder Disaster, and if it’s stored on the top shelf of the library, I probably won’t get the chance now.
Step-ladders have now been removed and banned from Oxford University’s world famous Bodleian library amidst health and safety fears. This means that the books on the top shelves can no longer be reached by students or academics who now have to travel to London to view other copies.
Step-ladders have been used in the library for decades, but not any more. To make matters worse, the university Dons refuse to move the books to a lower shelf because this would remove them from their ‘historic location’. According to library officials, the books have been safely consulted for 400 years before Elf and Shifty stepped in.