Library

The Library is open to Caius members from 7am to 1am every day. Information for current students about Library services can be found on the Library's section of the College intranet, The Venn.

We are open, by appointment, to external researchers wishing to consult items from our historic collections. Please e-mail library@cai.cam.ac.uk

Gonville & Caius has a magnificent Library which serves both the needs of the College community and the research interests of scholars from all over the world. Since 1996 it has been housed in the 19th-century Grade 1 listed Cockerell Building, originally the University Library. With its neo-classical architecture, vaulted ceiling and tall windows the Library provides a stimulating and inspiring environment for students and visitors alike.

The Library’s origins are far older than its current building. The College has possessed its own books ever since its foundation in 1348 and kept them in a purpose built library since 1441. Since then the collections have expanded in range and depth, commensurate to the growth and development of the College.

Today the Cockerell Building is divided between the Upper and Lower Libraries. The Upper Library has 100 working spaces and houses around 60,000 volumes of books and journals which aim to cover the essential reading of the Cambridge Tripos, together with postgraduate level material in many areas. The Lower Library contains the College’s historic collections of manuscripts, incunabula and early printed books, and other rare material.