The University Archives, housed at the University Library, is responsible for the selection and preservation of the internal administrative records of the University and for making them available for administrative and research purposes. The archives are as diverse in their contents as the activities the University has pursued down the centuries. They are the product of the principal University functions of teaching, research, student administration and support, external relations, commercial enterprise, corporate management, and resources management.
Records date from 1266 to the present and include charters, statutes and title deeds; records of the University’s legislative and executive bodies; financial and central administrative records; records of students and staff; records of Syndicates and committees; records of the Vice-Chancellor’s and Commissary’s Courts; and departmental and faculty records.
Building the institution’s memory is a continuous process. We welcome transfers from all and every part of the University of records which are no longer required for administrative reasons but reflect richly on the University’s different activities. Guidance on the kinds of records suitable for long-term preservation is set out in the University's Master Records Retention Schedule and the University Archives Collection Policy. To investigate making a transfer, please first contact Jacqueline Cox (jc10021@cam.ac.uk), Keeper of the University Archives. She will assess the material’s suitability for adding to the archives and estimate its scale. Once transferred to the University Library, it will be catalogued, conserved and made available to researchers under supervision in the Manuscripts Reading Room. As certain records may need to be restricted for a number of years under data protection legislation, any new accessions will be appraised and restricted accordingly.
For further information as to how to transfer records to the University Archives or if you have any additional enquiries, please contact Jacqueline Cox (jc10021@cam.ac.uk), Keeper of the University Archives.
For information and advice on Records Management, Data Protection and Freedom of Information, please contact the Information Compliance Office.