Searching for resources
When studying at Cambridge, your starting points for finding the material you need will be Heritage (Girton Library's catalogue) and iDiscover (the University-wide catalogue). For more information on how to get the most out of these tools, see our Library skills guides.
The libraries you are most likely to use regularly are Girton Library, the University Library, and the Geography Library. Within Girton Library you will find our Geography resources towards the back of the Lower Library. If you need something for your studies that we don't have, please feel free to recommend it for purchase.
You may also find it helpful to visit and use the Whipple Library, the A.G. Leventis Library, and the Scott Polar Research Institute. There may be other libraries within Cambridge that stock useful resources: for a full list, see the libraries directory, where you can check each library for access guidelines. Search Spacefinder to find places to study outside of College.
Subject-specific resources
The Geography LibGuide contains many links to subject-related information and assistance, including a guide to referencing for Geography students. There is also a dedicated LibGuide for cartographic resources throughout the University. You can find and search for databases that might help you on the Databases A-Z LibGuide. Some helpful online resources for your subject include:
- agCensus. Database of grid square agricultural census data for England, Scotland and Wales.
- American Meteorological Society Publications. Searchable collection of journals covering all aspects of meteorology.
- Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Encyclopedia of geographical places and features, containing descriptions of over 165,000 locations as well as information on the historical development of each place.
- Digimap. Online map service which offers various different collections, including Ordnance Survey, historical, geological, LiDAR and marine maps and spatial data.
- geology.com. News and information site for all aspects of geology, containing photos and descriptions of different topics, as well as some maps.
- GeoScienceWorld. Research database in the geosciences with links to many different resources, comprised of peer-reviewed journals, eBooks, GeoRef records, maps and images.
- GreenFILE. Research database focusing on the relationship between human beings and the environment across multiple disciplines, including agriculture, education, law and technology. It is made up of both scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports.
- IKAR Altkartendatenbank. Database containing a broad selection of maps printed before 1850, with worldwide coverage. It includes both bibliographic records of the maps and facsimile/digital reprints of the maps. NB website is mostly in German.
- The Royal Geographical Society Archive (with Institute of British Geographers). Extensive collection of manuscripts, maps, photographs, books and more, digitised for ease of access. It crosses multiple disciplines, places and time periods, and contains a wide variety of primary source material not found elsewhere.
Help within college
Library staff can provide support and assistance. You can book an appointment with us or ask a question via library@girton.cam.ac.uk.
Page last updated: August 2026.