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Cambridge University Library

The existence of a library at the University of Cambridge is first specifically mentioned in documents of the early fifteenth century, although it is known that the University possessed books well before then. In 1709 the Library became a library of copyright deposit under the first Copyright Act, and in 1715 it received by royal gift the magnificent library of John Moore, Bishop of Ely. In 1934 the Library removed from its Old Schools site to its present premises on the West of the city. A fuller history of the Library is at www.lib.cam.ac.uk/History/.

The Department of Manuscripts and University Archives holds a wide and rich range of material, including items and collections of international significance such as the Codex Bezae, the papers of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, and the archive of Jardine, Matheson & Co. The Library actively acquires manuscripts relating to the University and its members, or which build on its existing collection strengths.

Between August 2002 and July 2005 the Library made collection-level descriptions of two thousand of its Additional manuscripts and Named Collections available through the Archives Hub, representing the majority of its post-medieval and non-music manuscripts accessioned since the mid-Nineteenth Century.

Special feature: Charles Darwin and the Beagle Collections in the University of Cambridge: a Voyage Round the World.

Address: Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR Tel: 01223 333000

Web: www.lib.cam.ac.uk Email: mss@lib.cam.ac.uk

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