The 1930s building of the Library, with its awe-inspiring vaulted timber ceiling, was complemented in 2005 by a multi-award-winning extension. This created a spacious IT resources area and a state-of-the-art repository to house the Archive and the Special Collections. These collections range from rare Sanskrit manuscripts to gifts of books from Girton’s most notable early supporters such as Tennyson, Ruskin, and George Eliot. There are extensive and internationally important collections on the history of women and work, the suffrage movement, and women’s education, as well as an extensive archive of the College’s ground-breaking history.
Library News
Opening hours for Michaelmas Term 2025
Library:
9am to 11pm, seven days a week, until Sunday 7 December.
From Monday 8 December, vacation opening hours will apply (i.e. 9am to 5pm, weekdays only)
Study rooms:
All study rooms are currently available for booking.
Archive and Special Collections:
The opening hours for the Archive and Special Collections are different; please see the Arranging a Visit section of the website for full information but note that the Reading Room is open by appointment only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4.30pm.
The Archive and Special Collections are CLOSED as follows:
- Monday 22 September to Friday 10 October (while essential building work is carried out)
- Monday 22 December to Friday 2 January 2026 (Christmas and New Year)
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