St John’s has one of the largest College library collections in Cambridge, and our students have exclusive, 24/7 access to the Working Library’s collections, study spaces, borrowing and IT facilities. We aim to hold a copy of every title on every department’s core reading lists, and acquire hundreds of new books each year, ensuring the resources you need to excel in your studies are always close at hand. Library staff are available Monday to Friday to help students find the items they’re looking for, and if there’s something you need that we don’t already have you can simply recommend it.
iDiscover [LINK] offers a fast, intuitive way to search library collections across the University. You can search all the libraries in Cambridge together, or limit your search to specific libraries (eg St John’s and your department). Quick guides to using iDiscover are available online [LINK: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/idiscover], and Library staff are always happy to help you navigate the catalogue and locate the resources you need.
Spread over six floors, the Library offers a variety of comfortable work and study spaces. Desk space is available on all the upper floors for quiet study, and there’s a dedicated Silent Study Room on the Mezzanine Floor.
The AV Room on the First Floor offers informal seating and beanbags, as well as a space to listen to CDs (music and language material) and watch DVDs. Headphones and portable CD/DVD drives can also be borrowed from the Issue Desk for use elsewhere.
The bookable Seminar Room, complete with interactive smartboard and whiteboard, is available for group study and meetings, and the Silent Pod on the ground floor can also be booked for individual study and one-to-one meetings.
You can access shared PCs in the dedicated computer room on the third floor, or bring your own laptop and connect it to one of the many monitors provided on each floor.
Wifi access for all devices across the College and wider University is provided via Eduroam.
Printing and photocopying are available in the Library 24/7 at minimal cost, and scanning is free of charge.
The College’s expert IT & Digital Services team help our new students and researchers get set up and they provide one-to-one support if required.
Library staff are also on hand to troubleshoot basic technical issues.
Step-free access is provided throughout the Working Library, with lift access to all levels and an accessible toilet on the ground floor. The Library also offers a range of practical tools and resources to cater for our students’ needs, including assistive computer software, height-adjustable desks, book rests, magnifiers, coloured overlays, headphones and fidget toys.
If there’s something you need that we don’t have, just ask and we’ll always do our best to help you.
Library staff can answer queries on topics such as literature searches, referencing, copyright, plagiarism, accessing online and physical resources, using other libraries, working with special collections, and more.
During term time, staff offer group sessions focused on specific research skills as well as individual support, including palaeography classes in the Archive Centre and drop-in sessions in the Working Library.
St John's students can also access subject-specific and research-skills training provided by the University Library and various departments throughout the year.
