College LibraryA student sits at a desk working on her laptop, with bookshelves behind her.

The College Library aims to stock all core material on undergraduate and graduate reading lists, alongside a wealth of other more specialist texts. With over 65,000 books in its working collection, the Library has a generous loans policy and a large number of study spaces. Students are able to borrow up to 12 books for 4 weeks or until the end of term (the last Friday of week 8th), whichever comes first. Books can also be borrowed for the vacation period. You can borrow books for the vacation period A separate Law Library houses law reports and journals.

The College Library is open during term time from 8am – Midnight during weekdays and 9am – Midnight at weekends. Opening hours outside of term time may be reduced, although students can also make use of the network of department and research libraries, most notably the Bodleian, which is entitled to a copy of any book or periodical published in the UK or Ireland.

All books in the College Library are included in the electronic catalogue, SOLO, which in turn forms part of the wider Oxford University libraries network. The library is wired for access to electronic library resources and to the Internet. There are 3 computer terminals, including two catalogue PCs, a high-quality photocopy/scanner/printer machine available in the library foyer for students’ use and wireless connectivity for laptop users. New books are constantly being added to the College Library, at the recommendation of either Tutors or students and from undergraduate and graduate reading lists.

College Archives

Despite its modern foundation, St. Catherine’s College has an important Archive. The role of the College Archive is to preserve a record of the life of the College – both an institutional record, and a less formal picture of the life of the College community.

The Archive, based in the Library North seminar room, contains a small number of records relating to the Delegacy and a larger number relating to the foundation of the College, in addition to administrative records. The Archive primarily collects material relating to students, events in College, and commentary on College architecture.

The Archive is looked after by Barbara Costa, College Archivist and Librarian.