The Library

Opened in 1939, the library is built on two floors and houses almost all its modern material on open access.  The total stock of modern and antiquarian collections numbers approximately 100,000 volumes.

Texts and other materials are constantly acquired to support all the undergraduate courses taught in the university, which makes the college library the obvious first port-of-call for undergraduates, and requests by students for book purchases are welcomed.

Cooperation between the library, tutors and students is actively pursued and the library is a point of display for larger items from the JCR art collection, as well as administering the JCR DVD collection.

All New College students may use the library and entry is by swipe card during opening hours. External visitors should make an appointment with the Librarian.

Naomi van Loo, MA, BA, MCLIP
Email: Library@new.ox.ac.uk or naomi.vanloo@new.ox.ac.uk

Opening hours

• Term: 8.30am to midnight (every day)

• Christmas and Easter Vacations: 8.30am to 5.00pm (Monday to Friday)

• Summer Vacation: 9.00am to 5.00pm (Monday to Friday); closed between 1.00pm and 2.15pm

Borrowing

The loan period is two weeks for undergraduates and the whole term for postgraduates.

Students may have 35 items on loan, and a book can be renewed as many times as required so long as it has not been reserved by another reader.

The issue system is computerised through SOLO and students can reserve and renew books online and will be informed of reserved books ready for collection, overdue books etc. by email.

Library facilities

The design of the library offers different styles of working area and the outlook has the benefit of the medieval city wall, lawns and gardens.

On the upper floor, there are a number of tables for four people across a large area; bookshelves holding most subjects, as well as two small rooms with desks for four people that house the history collection.

On the lower floor, there are separate Law and Classics reading rooms with plenty of seats for students of other disciplines, the open bookstacks housing lesser-used materials and individual seats in between these stacks, which act as study areas.

The library provides wireless connection, Ethernet points and desks with power sockets for readers' laptops. There are also laptop-free zones, which are clearly indicated.