Welcome to the Department of Zoology Library
Jane Acred is the subject specialist librarian located in the Department of Zoology. With the Biological Sciences Library Team, Jane provides services and support to departmental students and members.
Find more about our librarian team.
Updates:
The library will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday 29th May. Alternative library spaces include: the Haddon Library, Department of Archaeology, Downing Site; the Whipple Library, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Free School Lane; and the University Library, West Road.
If you have any questions about library services, the staff can be contacted by emailing zoo@lib.cam.ac.uk
Rules
- Smoking (including e-cigarettes) and the consumption of food in the Library are strictly prohibited at all times. (Bottled water and drinks with secure lids are allowed)
- Mobile phones must be set to silent mode. To prevent disturbance to other readers, calls must be answered outside of the Library.
- Readers are requested to keep silence in the Library. If using headphones while working the volume must be kept to a level that does not disturb other readers.
- No book may be removed from the Library unless it has been borrowed legitimately. Library readers are responsible for the safe keeping of any book borrowed. They may be asked to pay for the replacement of books lost or damaged. Books must not be taken away from a readers' Cambridge address, except by undergraduates during the Christmas and Easter vacations.
- Study places may not be reserved and all personal belongings must be removed each day. The Library cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage of personal property.
History
The official name of the Zoology Library is the Balfour & Newton Libraries. The names Balfour and Newton commemorate Francis Maitland Balfour (1851-1882) Professor of Animal Morphology, and Alfred Newton (1829-1907) the first Professor of Zoology. Balfour's books, given by his family to form the nucleus of the Zoological Department Library, were housed on the site of the Austin Wing of the Cavendish Laboratory until the Department moved in 1933. The Newton collection, of ornithological importance, was bequeathed to the Museum of Zoology in 1907. It was transferred in 1938 when the Museum was incorporated into the Department.
