Undergraduate collection
The College Library contains over 60,000 books and welcomes all students, staff, and Fellows of the College. The Library aims to have all books needed for Part I courses, and as many as possible for Part II. In addition, we hold Fiction, Wellbeing, Academic Skills, and DVD collections. You can also access e-books and online journals through the Library, if you prefer to read on a screen. We regularly expand the collection by purchasing books from reading lists of all departments. Find out more about our specific collections here: Library Collections.
The Library holds the Graham Watson Collection of sheet music, please contact Library staff if you would like to consult this. A list of the collection is here: Graham Watson music.
Puzzles and wellbeing
Need a break from studying? The Library has:
• Jigsaws available to borrow, and a jigsaw on the go on the second floor outside the Fane Room
• Sudoku, chess puzzles, and board games on the second floor
• A collection of fiction books on the fourth floor: Fiction Collection.
• A collection of books on health and wellbeing, including mental health, relationships, grief and bereavement, healthy eating, sleep, living well, neurodiversity, and exploring nature. This collection is on the third floor and is listed here: Wellbeing Collection.
Medical books
Most books on medicine are in the normal collection, but we have two additional categories for medical students to make the most of our resources:
Short-loan collection:
Loan period: 24 hour loan, or Friday to Monday during term time. These books have a red label. A maximum of two books only can be borrowed at any one time from the Short-Loan Collection.
56-day-loan collection:
Loan period: 56 days. These books have a green label. You can borrow up to 5 books at any time.
Special collections
The Library also holds substantial collections of pre-1900 printed books and medieval to modern manuscripts. The Library’s earliest printed book, an illuminated copy of Cicero’s De officiis, printed on vellum, dates from 1465.
These books and manuscripts have been purchased by and donated to the Library since the Foundation of the College in 1584. At the core of the collection are a selection of books given by the Founder, Sir Walter Mildmay.
The personal library of William Sancroft (1617-1693), Archbishop of Canterbury and a Master of Emmanuel (1662-1664). The library comprises approximately 7,500 items, the earliest of which dates from the 15th century.
The Graham Watson Collection is a collection of mainly eighteenth- to nineteenth-century books with hand-coloured plates. The collection was formed by an Old Member of College, Graham Watson (b. 1908). He began to collect in 1939 with the purchase of Ackermann's History of the University and Colleges of Cambridge, paying £40 for his copy. The bulk of the collection with its glazed mahogany bookcases was presented to the College by Graham Watson in 1975.
If you are interested in consulting any of the Library’s Special Collections, please contact Library staff. For enquiries about material in the College Archives, contact the College Archivist at archives@emma.cam.ac.uk