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Using the Library

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Access & Hours

The Lee Seng Tee Library (Lee Library) is open to all current students, fellows and staff of Wolfson College, as well as Visiting Fellows and Scholars.

The building is open 24 hours a day all year. Access to the main rooms is controlled by your University Card.

Watch these videos to find out more:

Print resources

Our collections are held in the Reading Room, upstairs in the Library. They are primarily support taught courses taken by Wolfson students but we have books to support researchers too. We also have collections on study skills, wellbeing and travel, as well as section for reading for pleasure. All our books are listed in iDiscover, the catalogue for all Cambridge Libraries.

If you are not sure how to find a book in the Library, read our page on Finding Books or watch this video:

Suggest a Book Purchase

Library users are encouraged to make suggestions for new book purchases for the Library at any time; please fill in the online form. We don't always buy specialist research material or books for peronal interest; consideration may be given to the likely number of users and the longevity of a title when deciding whether to make a purchase.

Books often arrive within a few days but occasionally we use specialist books suppliers or source second-hand copies that may take longer to arrive. We will always get back to you if that is the case. Please try to think ahead and suggest any titles you know you will need for a certain date in good time.

Request and Collect

Rather than browse the shelves, you can use Request and Collect. Please check to see that we have the book on the shelves and then fill in the online form to request up to 5 books at a time. We will fetch them for you and they will be available for collection on the following working day in the Reading Room.

Day request placed online Day available for collection
Monday Tuesday
Tuesday Wednesday
Wednesday Thursday
Thursday Friday
Friday Monday
Saturday Monday
Sunday Monday

    Online Resources

    As a Wolfson student, you have access to the University of Cambridge’s extensive range of books, journals and online databases. Many of these resources are accessed via iDiscover, however, some are only listed and accessed via the portals listed below. Our librarians are here to help you make the most of this wealth of material.

    Use these Cambridge library portals to find:

    • Everything (including books, ebooks, journals, articles, news, reports)
    • Books (including books, ebooks, and journals)
    • Article Databases (including scholarly articles, news, reports)
    • Journals (search for a particular journal title in print and electronic format)

    Other study spaces in College

    If the spaces in the Library are full, you have lots other options for study in college. The Library is the only communal space that is dedicated to silent study. Here is a list of other spaces and the sort of study environment you expect:

    Noisy, cafe-style:

    • Club Room
    • Lee Room

    Quiet talking with a mix of comfy seating and tables:

    • Karen Spärck Jones Room
    • Old Combination Room

    Bookable rooms for group work, to practise a presentation or for an online supervision:

    • Roger Needham Room
    • Gatsby Room
    • Syndicate Rooms 1-6

    To book a room email the Conference Coordinator, Deborah Fitz-Gibbon.