Frequently Asked Questions

The Seeley Library is in the West Room of the University Library (the UL). Enter the UL and go up the stairs, through the central corridor, straight through the Reading Room. You’ll see teal signs for “Seeley Library – West Room”.

Borrowing from the Seeley is limited to current staff and students of Cambridge University. 

Use the self-issue machine in the West Room opposite the entrance.

Six books.

Books automatically renew unless they are requested by another library user

From the main desk in the Seeley Library, West Room. If the desk is unstaffed, recalled books will be available for collection from the recalls trolley in the West Room.

No, although we are housed in the same building, we are two separate libraries and your Seeley and UL borrowing accounts do not affect each other. 

If you have two overdue recall requests, you will not be able to borrow further items from any library.

You can return Seeley Library books to the dropbox, the Reader Services Desk or the Seeley. 

If you have a short-loan book, want to borrow more books, or have a recall request on your book, we advise you to return items directly to the Seeley Library. If you return Seeley Library books to the dropbox or to the Reader Services Desk, it may be a few hours before they are removed from your account.

We have a printer in the Seeley Library, West Room, but you will need to buy printer credit to use them. This can be bought through following the instructions on the University Information Services (UIS website)

You are welcome to bring lidded drinks into the Seeley Library. 

Food is permitted in the Tea Room and courtyards  in the UL only.

We hold a substantial back catalogue of POLIS and History MPhil dissertations until 2019 which can be viewed in the Seeley Library. They can be searched in the library catalogue, iDiscover, by title and author. We also have award-winning undergraduate history dissertations

For the Library of Congress classmarks (starting with letters) you simply need to run through the characters alphabetically. For example:

DS5.95 .A85 2004

Start by looking for D and then follow the shelf from DA through to DS. Here you will need to search for the number 5.95 in order to complete the subject part of your classmark. Within the DS5.95 subject you will then need to trace the remaining letters and numbers before searching for the edition you require (2004 in this example).

Seeley users should exit via the main entrance hall and wait at the meeting point, unless otherwise directed by a fire warden.

Once the room is evacuated, Seeley staff should exit via the Beta stairs and muster at the front of the staff car park. Staff from open departments are then the first to return to the building. Wait for fire warden instruction that it is safe to reenter.  

There is a lost property store at the Reader Services Desk in the UL. Lost items are kept for 3 months. There is no separate lost property store in the West Room.