Cambridge University Library

The Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of the University of Cambridge in England. It comprises five separate libraries:

• the University Library main building (commonly referred to simply as "the UL")
• the Medical Library
• the Betty and Gordon Moore Library (Centre for Mathematical Sciences)
• the Central Science Library (formerly the Scientific Periodicals Library)
• the Squire Law Library.

The Library was housed in the university's "Old Schools" near Senate House until it outgrew the space there and a new library was built. The large site on the western edge of Cambridge city centre is now between Robinson College and Memorial Court, Clare College. The current librarian is Anne Jarvis—-the first woman to hold the post—-who succeeded Peter Fox on 1 April 2009.

History

The library has existed in some form since the beginning of the 15th century. In 1416 William Loring bequeathed books to the library thus: "Item volo quod omnes libri mei juris civilis remaneant in communi libraria scolarium universitatis Cantebrigg' in perpetuum." The earliest catalogue is dated ca. 1424. From the 16th century onwards it received generous donations or bequests of books and growth was considerably increased once the privilege of legal deposit had been granted (it is still one of only three copyright deposit libraries in England under British law).

Architecture

The current UL building was constructed between 1931 and 1934 under architect Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the neighbouring Clare Memorial Court (part of Clare College). It bears a marked resemblance to Scott's industrial architecture, a famous example of which is Bankside Power Station (the home of the Tate Modern). Its tower stands 157 feet (48 metres) tall, six feet shorter than the top of St John's College Chapel and ten feet taller than the peak of King's College Chapel. Contemporary reports stated that in opening the building, Chamberlain referred to it as "this magnificent erection", although this phrase is also attributed by tradition to George V. The fictional "Dark Tower" in the novel of that name (attributed to C. S. Lewis) was a replica of this building. Contrary to popular belief, pornographic material is not stored in the tower ^[2].

The library has been extended several times. The main building houses the Japanese and Chinese collections in the Aoi Pavilion, an extension donated by Tadao Aoi and opened in 1998.

Legal deposit library

As a legal deposit library, it is entitled to claim without charge a copy of all books, journals, printed maps and music published in Britain and Ireland. This has contributed to the library's large holdings of over seven million books and 1.2 million periodicals. The library is open to all members of the University of Cambridge (although undergraduates in their first two years and University Assistants other than those who work at the library cannot borrow any books). As is traditional amongst British university libraries, research postgraduates and academics from other UK universities are allowed reference-only access to the library's collection, and members of the public can apply for access with an academic letter of introduction and on payment of a fee.

The library is unique amongst the UK's legal deposit libraries in keeping a large proportion of its books on open access and in allowing some categories of reader (for example Cambridge academics, postgraduates and final-year undergraduates) to borrow from its collection. It has a well-used "Tea Room" in which full meals, snacks and beverages are available. The library regularly puts on exhibitions, usually free to the public, and featuring items from its collections.

Special collections

As part of its collection of more than 7 000 000 volumes, the library contains a wealth of printed and manuscript material from earlier times. This includes:

• A copy of the Gutenberg Bible from 1455, the earliest European example of a book produced using moveable type.
• Library of Lord Acton, Catholic historian and Regius Professor of Modern History in 1885–1902. The extensive library (around 60 000 volumes) collected by Lord Acton for research was bequeathed to the University Library on his death. The collection contains books from the 15th to 19th centuries, with emphasis on European history and church history. Many of the books contain annotations in Lord Acton's own hand.
• An archive of Charles Darwin's correspondence and books from his working library (including copies of his own works).
• The Hanson collection, containing important books on navigation and shipbuilding, as well as maritime atlases, some dating from the 16th century.
• The Bradshaw collection, containing more than 14 000 books relating to Ireland, printed in Ireland, or written by Irish authors. This is one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. The collection was formed by Henry Bradshaw, d. 1886. At present, the emphasis is on books printed in Ireland before 1850.
• The library of the typographer Stanley Morison, who had close links with Cambridge University Press.
• "The Royal Library", an important collection of more than 30 000 books assembled by John Moore (1646–1714), Bishop of Ely. The collection was bequeathed to the University Library by George I in 1715, hence the name.
• The library of the Royal Commonwealth Society, containing books, periodicals, pamphlets, photographs and manuscripts relating to the British Empire and the Commonwealth.
• The Bible Society library and the library of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK).
• The Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collection, a store of 140 000 manuscripts and manuscript fragments, mainly in Hebrew and Arabic, from the Ben Ezra synagogue in Cairo.
• Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, an important codex of the New Testament dating from the fifth century, written both in Greek and Latin. The Greek text is unique, with many interpolations found nowhere else. It was given to the University of Cambridge by the Protestant scholar Theodore Beza, friend and successor of Calvin; hence the name.
• The Cambridge Songs (Carmina Cantabrigiensia), a collection of Goliardic medieval Latin poems, preserved on ten leaves of the "Codex Cantabrigiensis".
• E.G. Browne's collection of around 480 codices in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish.
• Papers of Isaac Newton, Lord Kelvin, Ernest Rutherford, George Gabriel Stokes, Joseph Needham, G. E. Moore and Siegfried Sassoon, among others.
• Archives of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
• Material and archives of the University of Cambridge, from probates and graces to records of various student societies.
• Around 1.5 million maps.

Digitisation project

In June 2010, Cambridge University announced that a £1.5 million donation would allow them to start digitising some of the collections in the University Library and eventually provide access to them free of charge over the Internet. Initially the project will focus on two collections called "The Foundations of Faith" and "The Foundations of Science", which will include writings by Isaac Newton and his contemporaries, as well as documents from the Library's archives of Christian, Islamic and Jewish texts.