The Cambridge University Library

Cambridge University Library is not only one of the world’s great libraries but also one of the six ‘legal deposit’ libraries in the UK (entitled to receive without charge a copy of all books, journals, printed maps and music published in Britain and Ireland). This has contributed to the library’s large holdings of over seven million books and 1.5 million periodicals. The collection is housed in a semi-classical building, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (famous for London’s red telephone boxes, Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power station) and built between 1931 and 1934.

The library has been extended several times, including the Aoi Pavilion (1998), which houses the Japanese and Chinese collections, and the Department of Manuscripts and University Archives (2000).

For nearly thirty years, Luke Hughes has regularly been commissioned to work within Scott’s design aesthetic to produce modern, ergonomic, technically up-to-date furniture that retains the architectural integrity of the building.

Links

History of the library: https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/about-library/history-cambridge-university-library

East Asian Reading Room: https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/east-asian-reading-room

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