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: Easter Term 2026
Throughout Easter Term our usual opening hours are being extended where possible, as follows:
- Monday-Wednesday: 9am until midnight
- Thursday: 9am until 11pm
- Friday-Saturday: 9am until midnight
- Sunday: 9am until 11pm
Any changes to this schedule will be clearly signposted in the Library. Please see below for our opening hours over the upcoming vacation, which will commence from Monday 22 June.
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
Opening hours for the study rooms: Easter Term 2026
- Study rooms remain open as usual. Please book study rooms before using them.
- Group study rooms D33, D34 and D35 on the hyphen corridor are bookable 24/7. Please note that D34 will come out of use after Friday 19 June 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).
All study rooms except group study room D34 will remain bookable throughout the summer.
Old JCR: Easter Term 2026
Old JCR will be available for quiet study from 8pm (in the evening) until 8am (in the morning) and each weekend throughout the Easter Term with the exception of the following dates, when it will NOT be available:
- 8pm on Thursday 11 June until 8am on Friday 12 June
The Old JCR will come out of use after Sunday 14 June.
End of Easter Term arrangements 2026
All items on loan to students must be returned by midnight on Tuesday 16 June 2026. If you need any items for longer because of exams or other work due later that week, please get in touch with us as soon as possible via library@girton.cam.ac.uk.
Graduands: it is vital that you return the items you have on loan. For anything that has not been returned by noon on Friday 19 June, you will be charged the full replacement cost plus an admin fee.
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.
Library vacation opening hours
From Monday 22 June, the Library will be open Mondays-Fridays, 9am-5pm, and closed at weekends. Some days may have shorter opening hours (or a lunchtime closure) depending on staff availability. If you are planning a journey specifically to use the Library, we recommend contacting us in advance to check availability.
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).
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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