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Rare Books Services, January 2026: During preparations for the Special Collections Reading Room, Rare Books services will operate from the Manuscripts Reading Room on the third floor above the current Rare Books Room. Books may be requested and reserved as usual. There will be limited access to reference works and card catalogues: staff will be happy to assist where possible with these resources. For enquiries please email rarebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk or telephone (01223) 333143.
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Restricted Access to some oversized materials: Read more...
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Special Collections Reading Room: Read more...
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Guidelines for using iDiscover to find Special Collections items (PDF)
The Rare Book collections of Cambridge University Library cover all subjects of study and include material from the first European printing presses in the fifteenth century up to the present day, and publications from all parts of the world. The Department is responsible for most of the older printed material in the Library, as well as more recent publications which require special care. Information on particular rare book collections can be found in the Collections Directory.
The collections are read in the Munby Rare Books Reading Room, on the north west corner of the first floor. For a brief guide to using the room, see our Reader Guidelines. Readers intending to use the Library for the first time should contact Reader Registration for further information and to obtain a Reader's card.
Select other collections within the Library are also consulted in the Munby Rare Books Room:
- Books from the Near and Middle Eastern, and South Asian, Tibetan and Southeast Asian collections printed before 1900
- Printed books from the library of the Bible Society
- Books, pamphlets and periodicals from the Royal Commonwealth Society
- Official Publications material
- Printed music published before 1900.
Making the most of your visit
If you are planning to visit to the Rare Books Department, and particularly if you have limited time here, we recommend contacting us in advance to ensure the items you wish to see are available. You are welcome to submit book requests in advance by emailing rarebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk including your 5-character reader’s card number (where applicable, e.g. VA123) and the classmarks for the books required. If you plan to visit within 5 days, it may be easier to order books online via iDiscover.
You are welcome to bring a camera to photograph the items you are working on, subject to condition and copyright and these rules. If you have any enquiries ahead of your visit then please get in touch.
Working with groups
We welcome enquiries from college and university teachers wishing to use our collections with their student groups. There is teaching space available next to the reading room where groups can work, with capacity for up to 15. Members of the curatorial team are happy to assist if required with handling advice or technical information. If you are interested, please email rarebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk giving at least a week's notice before your preferred date.
There is temporarily no access to a small quantity of Rare Books material, particularly items with the following classmarks:
- Cam.bb
- S100-S950.a-e published between 1900 and 1949
- all S100-950.bb published after 1900
- 850-899.bb
- Broadsides
- Some bookseller's catalogues
- Waddleton.tab and Waddleton.bb
- Special collections from the Seeley Library.
We will not be able to fetch these classes until further notice and apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.