Bernard Woodward was appointed to the post of Librarian in July 1860 after the death of his predecessor, John Glover. On his appointment, Woodward was encouraged to reform the Royal Library. In this, his third report, written to Queen Victoria in October 1862, he remarks on the completion of a rough rearrangement of the books and notes that work was starting on increasing the shelf space in the middle room of the Royal Library under the auspices of the architect Anthony Salvin.