Old Library of St. John's College

The Old Library of St. John’s College is located on the campus of the University of Cambridge. It is famous not only for its ancient architecture, but also for its rather unusual location right on the river Cam.

The library was built between 1623 and 1628, largely through the donations and efforts of two members of the college - Valentine Carey, Bishop of Exeter and John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln. When St. John's College was opened in 1516, its library was located in the only building owned by the institution at the time, occupying the ground floor, south of the Great Gate. The building was built in Jacobin Gothic style. Its length is 35 meters, and its width is 10 meters. The two tall windows of the building represent a fine example of the Gothic Renaissance, while the facade is made in the Renaissance style.

The College Library consists of two sections. The Old Library, which contains a large collection of historical manuscripts, rare books and documents, is essentially a museum. The modern Work Library provides for work and temporary home use a solid selection of books and current periodicals, as well as access to computer databases and the Internet.