The major strength of the Classics Library is its collections on the Classical world of ancient Greece and Rome including literature, history, philosophy, mythology and religion, palaeography, linguistics and philology, art, sculpture, numismatics and classical archaeology. The Modern Greek collection is primarily literary, but also includes books on Byzantine and Modern Greek history.
Make a Book Suggestion for Classics or other libraries in Cambridge.
For up-to-date information on our electronic collections see the Classics Libguide.
Our classification system uses a 3 part classmark, e.g. F 4.78 9. The first letter, or letters, directs you to the relevant part of the collection. The middle number or letters indicate the sub-section, and the final number is a running number for items. The main divisions within the collection are as follows:
|
Start of classmark |
Contents |
|
R / S |
Reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopaedias and atlases |
|
A |
Major Greek and Latin text series |
|
B |
Greek texts and commentaries |
|
C |
Latin texts and commentaries |
|
D |
History |
|
E |
Literature |
|
F |
Philosophy and Religion |
|
G |
Modern Greek |
|
J |
Linguistics |
|
Per |
Periodicals |
|
V / VV |
General archaeology by region |
|
W |
Architecture and pre-Hellenic archaeology |
|
WW |
Greek and Roman sculpture |
|
X |
General art, painting, vases |
|
XX |
Other arts |
|
XX/NUM |
Numismatics |
|
Y |
Specific archaeological sites |
|
YY |
Travel guides, archaeological theory, museology, Byzantine art |
Other sections include:
|
Start of classmark |
Contents |
|
EP |
Epigraphy First aisle of rolling stacks |
|
H |
Palaeography RVR – room opposite the issue desk |
|
Pam |
Pamphlets Closed stacks – must be requested at the issue desk |
|
SL (end of classmark) |
Short loan books Behind the Issue Desk – please ask a staff member |
|
T |
Language materials On the Sidgwick Site side of the library, after the catalogue terminals |
We also hold a number of prize-winning undergraduate Part II dissertations which may be consulted within the Library by university members. Please ask at the Issue Desk for more details.
Special Collections
Please contact the Librarian if you would like to consult any of our special collections:
Early printed books
Mainly on ancient classical sites collected by the Museum of Classical Archaeology.
Leake Collection
This is a collection of notebooks of the journeys in Greece of Colonel Leake (1777-1860), soldier and topographer are now housed in the Archives, please contact the archivist to consult.
Owen Collection
G.E.L. Owen studied Ancient Greek philosophy. This collection includes philosophical books, working versions of published papers and early working notes. These are now housed in the Faculty Archives, please contact the archivist to consult.
Map Collection
The Library holds maps drawn up by the War Office in the 1940s. These are of particular interest to archaeologists for their excellent topographical detail.
