New Students

• All the information you will need as a student arriving in the UK. It includes what you need to know before arriving, what to expect when you get here and what organizations you need to register with . Guide issued by the British Council
• Our camguide provides all the information you will need on Cambridge Students settling in Cambridge. A great video on Settling in.
• A dedicated page from the Student Union.
• As a disability student you can visit our Disability/ Assistive Resources  website for further resources for you. You may also find helpful the AccessAble disability location website that shows you disability friendly locations all around the Uk.
• We have an Library induction page dedicated to providing library induction information all year around. We also offer induction tours for our new library users.

Most students belong to three libraries during their studies at Cambridge University: College Library, Faculty/Departmental Library and the University Library. Each library has their own rules, opening hours and borrowing rights.

Christ's Library: Our Library aims to provide all books needed for undergraduate Tripos Part I papers, and as many as possible for Part II papers. We are a 24/7 library that offer study space for our Christ's members. We are situated on Christ's college grounds on First Courst, right in the city centre of Cambridge. 

Faculty/Departmental Library: Faculty and departmental libraries are designed to accommodate their subject and serve their own faculty or department. They are particularly useful when looking for physical or online resources specific to your subject. These libraries also have subject specific librarians.

University Library: With registration all members of Cambridge University can access and borrow at the University Library. Holding more than 9 million materials including specialized collections, this library is great for further research. The University Library is a copyright library, which means that it receives a copy of every book published in the UK as a legal deposit (restrictions apply to the material), either in print or digitally. Core materials can be borrowed or consulted in the University Library but do keep in mind the popularity of some of the materials. 

Please have a look at this video that introduces Cambridge Libraries to prospective and current students.

You can also visit the Welfare and Support Christ's page for further information on services available to you. You will need your Raven password to access. Some  of the information is also available in the our Wellbeing page.

You can also visit your course directory and find your course. Read through its learning outcomes, and see if you can identify the contact you might expect, how and where you'll be taught, and the research elements in your course. In particular, look for the skills and practices that you'll be expected to develop during your degree.

Christ's college provides an extensive guide of online learning resources organized by Cambridge Course. This guide can help you expand the knowledge of your subject beyond the curriculum. 

All universities will have terms in common and terms that are unique to them. Here we try to define a few of the more academic words that you may not have come across before. Your college may provide you with some of the more colloquial terms. Check the list of terminology that might be relevant for you. If you would like to see a more in-depth list before you arrive, Queens' College provides one on their website.

Your Raven password, together with your CRSid (your University ID) lets you log in to the University’s computing services such as Wi-Fi, your Cambridge email, Moodle, CamSIS and other online resources protected by Raven authentication.

A service is provided by University Information Services so you can check that your login to the Raven web authentication service is working.

For further information on Accounts and Passwords 

Physical access to the College Library is by using your University Card; the building is open 24/7. Borrowing rights are activated upon completion of your induction tour. Library staff are available Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

We aim to provide all books needed for Part I papers and as many as possible for Part II papers, with some material for Part III and postgraduate studies also available. Multiple copies of high-demand items. We also have a reference collection of dictionaries and a general interest collection of DVDs and popular books.

You can also access books and e-resources through iDiscover , the Cambridge University Search Engine. Many resources needed for Part II, Part III, and postgraduate studies can be found in the relevant Faculty/Departmental Library or the University Library. 

For further advice on how to search iDiscover  please visit our website on iDiscover or our page on how to Use the library and its services.

• As a Christ's member you would have access to Christ's Library 24/7 by using your University ID. Only Christ's members are allowed full library privileges.
• Depending on your Faculty or Departmental Library you will also have access to your subject library. 
• The University Library is accessible to all members of Cambridge University.

Do not worry we have plenty of information and staff are always happy to help you find what you are looking for.

Working Library is the term we use for our main library that houses our 21st century material. The first floor is a Reading Room that also serves as a study area. Most of the material you will be needing for your course can be found in the Working Library. Self issue machines,  to borrow books without staff assistance, are to the left of the first floor in the Working Library. 

Additional information: 

Booklets on the general use of the library: Undergraduate Library Guide  and Postgraduate Library Guide

Information on our Library

Videos of library space and services

Information on Borrowing/Returning books

Information on Finding Resources 

Disability/ Assistive Resources

Computers/Printing

For further information please contact us or book an appointment to speak to a member of staff

Depending on your subject you might find that your Faculty/Departmental Library or the University Library or Online resources have the resources you are looking for yet  as a member of Christ's College you have exclusive access to  material that might be unavailable or in high demand in other libraries. This is where Christ's library becomes an importance source and study space for your studies. We aim to provide all books needed on all subjects for Part I papers and as many as possible for Part II papers, with some material for Part III and postgraduate studies also available. You will also have the Christ's Library staff to help along the way with any library enquiries.

In the beginning of every academic year we have general induction tours . We also have information on our website. Relevant information is also sent to student via email every term. 

You can also find Library Induction information all year around on our library website.

We also offer a virtual induction of iDiscover with visual guides and practice exercises on our iDiscover webpage. If you need further assistance in understanding iDiscover, our library online catalogue, please don't hesitate to speak to a member of staff.

You can contact us or book an appointment any time of the year , to speak to a member of staff. We can answer your enquiries or direct you to the right resource. Our office is located on the first floor, Monday to Friday 9-5.

Christ's members are allowed to borrow up to 15 items at a time from Christ’s for 2 weeks; instructions on how to borrow items can be found on our website or you can email or come in person to the library and library staff can help you.

You can visit our webpage that has a video of  our library space.

We have additional information for those that need further assistance or disability students on more detailed space descriptions of the library.

You can contact staff for further information by emailing, calling or booking an appointment with us. We can also provide additional photos of the library space. 

We have a number of different spaces in the Library for all our user needs. The library is open 24/7 with available self issue machines on the first floor.

Reading Room: Our reading room on the first floor that has 60 available study spaces for our users

Group Study Room: Located on the Mezzanine, top floor, this room can be booked for group study.

Library Corridor: On the Ground Floor we have an area with comfortable armchairs and coffee tables for eating, socializing or casual studying. 

There are eight computers, two printers, and a photocopier/scanner in the Library. For more information on Computers and Printing.

We try our best to be as inclusive as possible to all our users. Please visit our dedicated page on Disability/ Assistive Resources for information on our accessibility and disability resources in Christ's and Cambridge Libraries. 

Unfortunately you may not study in the Old Library. Our Working Library (21st century material) with a Reading Room on the first floor is the main study area. 

You can visit the Old Library and bring family/friends by arranging an appointment by contacting library staff. From there we can set a date and time for your viewing. Alternatively  we hold exhibitions in the Old Library throughout the year.