Old Library & Archives
The Old Library
Until 1912 the College Library was housed on the second floor of the west range of Cloister Court in the room now known as the ‘Old Library’. This still contains about 9,000 books, in handsome oak bookcases of 1662. The collection is particularly strong in Theology, Classics, Law, History and Travels. An adjoining room contains the College’s collection of manuscripts (including 78 medieval and 25 oriental) as well as the library formed by the father of T. R. Malthus (including all his son’s printed works), and the Jesuan collection of books by and about members of the College.
Only a small proportion of the Old Library has been catalogued onto Newton. However, the library’s forty or so incunabula (books printed before 1501), and the earliest English printed works (those printed up to 1550) recorded as being held by the college in the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) have been catalogued. A list of the incunabula can be found here. All those works in the library which qualify for inclusion in the ESTC (those printed in English or other languages but in the UK up to 1801) are recorded there as being held by Jesus College. To search for these works go to estc.bl.uk, select ‘Advanced search’ and choose ‘Library name’ from the drop-down menu, entering ‘Cambridge University Jesus College’ in the search box, along with any other keywords such as authors or titles. The results provided by such searches should be used with caution, since there are occasionally errors in the identification of our copies with the correct editions. Furthermore, there is no shelf-mark or provenance information for the majority of the collection, only for those pre-1550 works mentioned above.
The “Malthus Collection” held in Jesus College Old Library (the Malthus family’s library) has now been fully catalogued online. Records can be found in Cambridge University Library’s “Newton” catalogue http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/newton/, searching “Colleges A-N”. A report on the cataloguing can be found here.
Dr Stephen Heath is Keeper of the Old Library. All enquiries about rare books should be directed to Dr Frances Willmoth (Archivist and Assistant to the Keeper of the Old Library).
Research visits to the Old Library may be arranged by appointment; new readers from outside College are expected to bring a letter of recommendation with them on their first visit. Members of the College and their guests may also visit by appointment. Regular times for tours are sometimes advertised; other times may be possible, by arrangement with Dr Willmoth (tel: 339405 or 339439; e-mail: old-library@jesus.cam.ac.uk).
Books from the reference class ‘JES’ (Jesuan Collection) are gradually being added to the computer catalogue and may be consulted on request (ask one of the Quincentenary librarians); but they cannot be borrowed. Books in the ‘CLA’ (Clare Collection) and ‘CAM’ (Cambridge) collections, now both housed elsewhere, may also be consulted on request.
The College Archives
The College Archives contain administrative records, chiefly relating to the College’s financial affairs and properties. Some limited information relating to former Fellows and students can be found there, but little of a personal nature. Letters of E. D. Clarke (1769-1822), papers concerning the dismissal of William Frend (1757-1841), and correspondence of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) are notable exceptions. Medieval deeds and account-rolls surviving from the nunnery that previously occupied the college site form an important source for the early history of Cambridge. A catalogue of these can be accessed via the Janus website.
Enquiries should be directed to the Archivist, Dr F. H. Willmoth. Readers are admitted only by appointment. We prefer to receive enquiries by post (Jesus College, Cambridge CB5 8BL) but if you wish to use e-mail the address is archives@jesus.cam.ac.uk. When sending an e-mail please include your postal address.
Enquiries about old members of more recent date should be directed to the Development Office.