Our catalogue, VuFind, is the main tool allowing you to find all Trinity College Library printed books and serials, DVDs, CDs, OS maps, board games and puzzles: 

Need to extend your search beyond Trinity? For everything held in the University Library, faculty and departmental libraries and other College libraries, look in iDiscover:

VuFind is a really powerful catalogue, allowing you to search in many different ways.

As well as typing directly in the search box, from the homepage you can browse by:

• format: from books to journals to musical scores to maps to DVDs…and many others.
• language: there are more than 100 languages represented in our collection, so if you fancy a bit of Old Norse or Coptic or Maori, you will find all the relevant books by using the language search.
• collection: choose between modern collections, special collections, and film.

From the advanced search page, you can mix and match even more search criteria and keywords.

From your ‘Search results’ page, use the ‘Refine Search’ sidebar on the left to refine your search further.

Our books are arranged by subject. To find them on the shelf, you need to make a note of the shelfmark as indicated in our catalogue, and then look at the codes you see on the spines of books. The first part of the shelfmark will tell you in which room to find the book:

• if the code starts with ‘RR’, the book lives upstairs in the Reading Room
• if the code starts with ‘LL’ that means it can be found in the Lower Library.

There are some exceptions to this in the case that books have been moved to the Basement to conserve shelf space. Thankfully, our online catalogue lists clearly the shelfmark and the location of the book, so it shouldn’t be too tricky to find. 

The ‘main class number’ in the image above indicated the subject. You can access a list of all our subjects and related class numbers on the Modern Collections page.

Some subject collections are spread between the Lower Library and Reading Room. Check the shelfmark carefully and never hesitate to ask a member of library staff for help if you’re unsure where to look. The Enquiry Desk at the Library entrance is always staffed when the Library is open.

This quick video explains it all in detail:

Are we missing a text on your reading list? Is there a new board game you’re dying to play? Or would a particular assistive device help you to study? Please let us know by recommending it!

We aim to hold copies of all books that appear on Part I reading lists and a broad coverage of those that appear on Part II and III lists. We hold multiple copies of key texts, and will always consider purchasing additional copies if demand is proving high. Don’t hold back from recommending if you need things urgently; we will always try to get hold of requested items as quickly as possible, and, depending on availability, can often get them to you within 24-48 hours.

• If you need a book which is not on a reading list, please recommend this too. We can’t promise to buy everything, but we’ll always do our very best to enable you to access what you need, one way or another. 
• Recommendations are not limited to books for study. If there’s a fiction or non-fiction book that you’d like to read to relax, or a board game you’d be keen to play, or an assistive device which you think could help you to study more effectively, then please get in touch too.
• We appreciate book recommendations for our welfare/wellbeing collections may touch upon sensitive topics, so the form for requests on these subjects can be made anonymously.

The easiest way to let us know about a recommendation is by filling in this online form:

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to email Library staff directly with recommendations, then feel free to do so, using [email protected]; or call by the Library enquiry desk and speak to the member of staff on duty. 

Book requests will be processed as soon as possible by Library staff, Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm, and requestors will be informed by email as soon as requested items are available for collection. 

If you specifically want an e-book, please use the University Library’s recommendation form.

Due to the structure of the Library building, some shelves in the Lower Library sometimes don’t seem to follow the most logical shelfmark order. If in doubt, ask a member of staff: we know the Library inside out, and we will be happy to help you.

• Some series and sections are shelved in the Basement. If you notice a substantial gap in the shelfmark sequence, fear not: check the sides of the stacks instead, where you will find a list of the books that should be on the shelf in front of you but are actually in the Basement.
• Some books are large and therefore are shelved in the Large Volumes section of the Reading Room. These books can have either a RR or a LL shelfmark, but they can all be found in the Reading Room upstairs.
• A significant number of Shakespeare-related resources is in the Basement. If the shelves in the Lower Library look a bit slim for such an important author, remember to have a trip downstairs, where you will find plenty more material on the Bard.

The Library holds a collection of over 2,500 films on DVD, which are located in the Catalogue Room. Browse the shelves, search on VuFind or explore the dedicated website Library Film Collection for access to trailers, reviews and other features:

E-books, e-journals and databases are managed centrally by the University Library. All members of Trinity can make use of the e-book and e-journal subscriptions managed by the UL.

To see if a book you need is available electronically, simply search for it as you would a physical book in the University’s iDiscover catalogue. Once you’ve found the book you’re after, look to the right-hand panel of the catalogue display and you’ll see a box labelled ‘Availability’. Items ‘Available in the Library’ are physical copies of the text held across the libraries of Cambridge; ‘Full text online’ indicates that an e-book of the text is available. Click/tap on this link and it will take you through to a catalogue record with a link to access the full e-book (once you have logged in with your Raven ID credentials).

Electronic versions of particular journal articles can be searched on iDiscover too. Just make sure that the radio button, ‘Articles and online resources’ is selected in the main iDiscover search bar. Alternatively, you can access e-journal articles via the ‘E-journal search’ button in the top panel of the iDiscover search page. Clicking here will take you through to an A-Z list of the journals to which the University possesses an electronic subscription. Simply find the journal you’re after and follow the links through!

At the beginning of Michaelmas Term we run a programme of Library inductions, where we offer a tour of the College Library and explain how the catalogue works. If, rather than reading from a screen, you enjoy live interactions, make sure you keep an eye on the inductions programme.

You don’t need to be a new student to take part; an induction can be useful as a refresher too.

Staff members are always happy to show you around at all times so, if you have questions on how to navigate the library, just come to the Enquiry Desk and ask.