The building, with one of the largest domes in Britain, is named after Dr Radcliffe, the Royal Physician at the time, who put up all the money for its construction. The Camera housed scientific books until a separate Radcliffe Science Library was founded near the University Museum in 1861; Theology, History and English Literature are the principal subject areas for the books kept in the building at present.

As the Radcliffe Camera is a reading room of the Bodleian Library, it is not open to the public except with a registered guide. Since 2011, a mad subterranean library/tunnel has connected the Camera with the Bodleian Library.