Searching for resources
There are two key library catalogues you may use when studying at Cambridge:
Girton Library catalogue (Heritage) – 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 English Faculty Library. However, there may be other libraries within Cambridge which 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
- The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Current searchable online edition of the OED. Useful for history of individual words, and of the English language.
- The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) Concise, scholarly biographies of historical and literary figures. Searchable and quotable.
- Cambridge Companions Online A wide selection of authoritative guides offering introductions to a multitude of subjects.
- Oxford Very Short Introductions Very short introductions to a large variety of subjects.
- Proquest One Literature Includes Author Pages (with scholarly biographies, lists of works, and links to related journal articles) and online versions of reference books such as The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms.
- Oxford Scholarly Editions Online Online, searchable editions of primary texts. Includes editions of works by Dickens, Donne, and Dryden through to Virgil, Wordsworth and the New Oxford Shakespeare.
- ARTstor A digital library of images and accompanying scholarly information.
- The Bible 20 versions of the English Bible.
- Times Digital Archive 1785-2010 Searchable digital copies of The Times Between 1785-2010.
- Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive Every page of every copy of the TLS published from 1902-2011.
- British Library Literature Timeline Interactive timeline from the British Library. Detailing the evolution of English language and literature, from the 11th century to the present day.
- Literary Resources on the Net Collection of links to online resources for English and American literature. Created by Jack Lynch of Rutgers University.
Primary texts
- Hathi Trust Digital Library
- Early English Books Online - How to use EEBO: a guide from the University of Waterloo.
- Project Gutenberg
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Practical Criticism & Critical Practice
- The faculty's virtual classroom: An Introduction to Practical Criticism includes a short history of the paper and an introductory online class.
- The Forest of Rhetoric - silva rhetoricae Resource explaining the major concepts of classical rhetoric.
- PhilPapers Extensive database of journals and books on philosophers and theorists such as Theodor W. Adorno, Roland Barthes and Walter Benjamin.
- Prac Crit An online journal of poetry and criticism, dedicated to reading contemporary poems up close.
- The Faber Poetry Library A collection of some of the most influential poets of the twentieth century.
Journal article
- JSTOR
- Project MUSE
- LION
- Google Scholar
- JISC Journal Archives
- Cambridge ejournals [A to Z of Databases]
- British Periodicals Archive Online
Bibliographies (Searchable indexes of scholarly books and articles - good for tracking down references)
For more detailed information, go to English Faculty Library Subject Guides.
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.