The library in its current form was endowed by Christopher Codrington (1668–1710), a fellow of the college who amassed his fortune through his sugar plantations in Barbados, an island in the British West Indies.

[2] Codrington bequeathed books worth £6,000, in addition to £10,000 in currency (the equivalent of approximately £1.2 million in modern terms).

[4] The first woman to be admitted as a reader to the library was Cornelia Sorabji from Somerville College, at the invitation of Sir William Anson, 3rd Baronet in 1890.

[6] Unusually for an Oxford college library, access to the Codrington is open to all members of the university (subject to registration).

[7] The library contains a significant collection of manuscripts and early printed books, and attracts scholars from around the world.