Searching for resources
There are two key library catalogues you may use when studying at Cambridge:
Girton Library catalogue (Heritage Cirqa) – search Girton Library’s collection and see if items are available or already on loan. See our eGuide for further information.
iDiscover – to search across the University’s print and electronic collections (including books, eBooks, journals, newspapers, articles and much more, from other colleges, faculty and department libraries, and the University Library. Most, but not all, of Girton’s collection can be found here. See our Searching iDiscover eGuide for further information.
You will be able to borrow from Girton’s Library and the University Library and you may also find it helpful to visit and use the MML (Modern and Medieval Languages) Library, the Seeley Library, and the English Faculty Library, which houses the ASNC collection. However, there may be other libraries within Cambridge that stock useful resources. For a full list of the Cambridge libraries see the directory and check each library for access guidelines.
Search Spacefinder to find places of study outside of College.
Subject-specific resources
You can find and search for databases that might help you on the Database A-Z LibGuide. However, some key resources for your subject include:
- Archive of Celtic-Latin Literature (ACLL-1). A full-text database of the corpus of Latin literature produced in Celtic-speaking Europe, together with the Latin works of the Continental ‘perigrini’, from the period 400-1200 A.D. The database contains over five hundred Latin works by over a hundred known and unknown authors, spanning the fields of theology, liturgy, computistics, grammar, hagiography, poetry and historiography, and including legal texts, charters, inscriptions, etc.
- Bibliography of British and Irish History. Provides bibliographic data on historical writing dealing with the British Isles, and with the British Empire and Commonwealth, from 55BC to the present.
- Brill’s New Pauly. A reference collection offering encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standards with an interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation, focusing on the classical world.
- Cambridge Histories Online. A globally respected series of over 300 volumes spanning fifteen subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, concentrating on political and cultural history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, music and the arts. Searchable by author, title, and subject.
- Dictionary of Old English A to I.
- Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus.
- English Poetry (600-1900). A searchable online collection contains over 160,000 poems, comprising the complete canon of English poetry of the British Isles from the 8th century to around 1900.
- Indo-European Etymological Dictionaries. A rich and voluminous online reference source for historical and general linguists. Dictionaries can be cross-searched, with an advanced search for each individual dictionary enabling the user to perform more complex research queries. Each entry is accompanied by grammatical info, meaning(s), etymological commentary, reconstructions, cognates and often extensive bibliographical information.
- Patrologia Latina Database. Comprises the works of the Church Fathers from Tertullian in 200 AD to the death of Pope Innocent III in 1216. The database contains the complete Patrologia Latina, including all prefatory material, original texts, critical apparatus and indexes.
- The Skaldic Project. An international project to edit the corpus of medieval Norse-Icelandic skaldic poetry.
- Vetus Latina Database. Contains a huge panoply of citations of Latin biblical texts, which were in existence and used from the second century AD/CE until the time when the Vulgate became predominant. The VLD-online contains every citation, listed by book, chapter and verse of the Bible. The application allows the scholar to search citations individually or as a whole, following the biblical structure to print the results.
Finding relevant material if you don't have a reading list
The databases below cover a wide range of resources from all disciplines and can be very helpful when you don't have a reading list or are starting out.
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index (including the Web of Science Core Collection). An online index that covers journal articles published in the physical and life sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
- BrowZine. Search a large range of online journals in all subjects Cambridge University provides.
- HathiTrust. A searchable collaborative collection of academic and research libraries preserving 17+ million digitized items.
- JSTOR. Provides access to over 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
- WorldCat. Lets you search for collections of libraries in your community and thousands more worldwide.
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.