LATEST UPDATES FOR THE WOLFSON LIBRARY
Library Access
The Wolfson Library is now open 24/7 for college members.
Returning Books
The library book returns box is now in the foyer, near the entrance of the library. We regret that books from other libraries can no longer be returned to the Wolfson library. For non-Wolfson books, please use the book-drop boxes in front of the University Library or on the Sidgwick site (near the English Faculty and Lady Margaret Hall).
In Two-Week Quarantine or Self-isolation?
The Wolfson library has services to help you through your quarantine period including book delivery, virtual study sessions and loans of jigsaw puzzles (we also have a number of online jigsaw puzzles too). Please see the guidance for students who must quarantine for more details.
Undergraduate Pre-Arrival Reading LIsts
All of the new UG pre-arrival reading lists in one handy list!
The Lee Seng Tee Library (Lee Library) is open to all current students, fellows, CRAs and staff of Wolfson College, as well as Visiting Fellows and Scholars. We have a pdf guide to help you get started:
Or watch our Using the Library video:
Read on below for more detailed information including our Library Teaching and Learning Philosophy.
The building is usually open 24 hours a day all year with the exception of 25/26 December and 1 January (with early closing on 24 December and 31 December).
Access to the main rooms is controlled by your University Card.
Here are some short-cuts to useful information. More is available by selecting on the page name in the grey box or clicking on 'In this section' link in the above menu.
- Borrowing
- Finding Books
- Facilities & Rules
- Collections
- Request a Book
- Support for Disabled Users
- Library Teaching and Learning Philosophy
- Other Cambridge Libraries
- Contact Us + Library Staff Information
To learn more about finding and borrowing books in the library, watch this video:
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)
Request a Book Purchase
Library users are welcome and encouraged to make suggestions for new book purchases for the Lee Library at any time. All suggestions are considered carefully by the Librarian in the context of the Lee Library Collection Development Policy and current purchasing priorities and in consultation with the relevant Director of Studies for the subject area where necessary. The Lee Library does not usually buy specialist research material, and consideration may be given to the likely number of users and the longevity of a title when deciding whether to make a purchase.
We source most of our books from a specialist library supplier and orders usually take around one to two weeks to arrive. Urgent orders can sometimes by satisfied more quickly (i.e. you should not be discouraged from making a suggestion because you think the books will take too long to come), but this cannot always by guaranteed. Please try to think ahead and suggest any titles you know you will need for a certain date in good time.
The Building and Its Benefactor
The Lee SengTee Library (Lee Library) was opened in 1994, a gift from Mr Lee Seng Tee of Singapore, a major benefactor of the College. It was designed by architects Brewer, Smith and Brewer, and particular objects of interest on each floor include:
- On the ground floor foyer a scale model of the armillary sphere on the roof of the Peking Observatory
- In the basement a bookbinder's press with a distinctive triskelion lever, in use at a Cambridge bookbindery until 1982
- On the first floor, a bust of Tan Sri Dr Lee Kong Chian, father of the benefactor.
The Sir David Williams Room (SDWR) is a study space on the ground floor of the Library named in honourof the College's former President, the late Sir David Williams (Wolfson President, 1980-1993).
The Gordon Johnson Room (GJR), opposite the SDWR on the ground floor of the Library, houses the College's computers on the University MCS network. Dr Johnson was Wolfson President from 1993-2010.
The basement of the building contains bathrooms and the College Archives.
