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
Library opening hours: Long vacation 2026
The Library is currently open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Some days may have shorter opening hours (or a lunchtime closure) depending on staff availability. If you are planning a special journey to use the Library, we recommend contacting us in advance at tel. 01223 338970 or by email to library@girton.cam.ac.uk.
The Library will be closed completely for a fortnight from Monday 17 August, and will reopen on Tuesday 1 September. Full Term opening hours will resume on Saturday 3 October (the weekend immediately before the start of Michaelmas Full Term).
Opening hours for the study rooms: Long vacation 2026
- Study rooms remain open as usual throughout the summer. Please book study rooms before using them.
- Group study rooms D33 and D35 on the hyphen corridor are bookable 24/7. Please note that study room D34 is not currently in use and will not be available until early September.
- Quiet study rooms on Middle Chapel and Top Chapel are bookable from 8.15am to midnight.
- Postgraduate-only study room F40 is bookable 24/7 (please note that you will need to collect the key from the Porters' Lodge).
Vacation borrowing
Vacation borrowing starts on Wednesday 17 June for all students except graduands, who will not permitted to borrow from the Library after Tuesday 16 June.
You may borrow up to 10 items for the vacation. No vacation borrowing is permitted until all term loans have been returned.
Anything borrowed for or during the vacation will be due back at the start of Michaelmas Term, no later than Wednesday 7 October.
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.
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