Homerton College Library occupies all three floors of the north wing of Mary Allan Building. Mary Allan was one of the first Principals of Homerton College, about 100 years ago, after the College moved to its present site from Homerton in East London (where it originated in the late 17oos).
Homerton College site plan
Homerton College site plan (PDF)
Homerton College Library floorplans
Links to Library floor plans below. The floor plans are on display in the Library and are viewable on our catalogue search screens by clicking on Library maps in the main Enquiry menu (also the Homerton College site plan). The floorplans are up to date as at September 2011.
Ground floor – Homerton College Library floorplan
Floor 1 – Homerton College Library floorplan
Floor 2 – Homerton College Library floorplan
Floor by floor guide
Most items in the Library are arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).
Ground Floor
Main subject degree-level material: arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) 000-899, A800-A899, B800-B899, C800-C899, D800-D899 and E800-E899 (note that 900-999, history, is on Floor 1). A800s-E800s are five age periods of literature.
Quick reference section (QREF): dictionaries (including many foreign languages), encyclopedias, road atlases and other standard reference works. Red spot with ‘QREF’.
Journal current issues and newspapers: current issues are kept in the reading area on the ground floor. We subscribe to a selection of general interest journals (Economist, Times Literary Supplement, Spectator, Times Education Supplements, Gramophone, etc.), a few peer-reviewed academic journals, and three daily newspapers (Financial Times, Times, Guardian). The newspapers are available only during full-term and only on weekdays. Back issues of the journals are stored on Floor 2, along with a large number of older academic journal back issues. All journals are reference only.
Note that the University Library (UL) offers online access to a large number of academic journals (at great expense) via the eresources@cambridge portal. These are accessible by all members of the University both on and off campus via Raven password. More about online access is on our FAQ page ‘what is the best way to access online journal articles?’
Our complete journal holdings (ie. all the actual printed copies, or ‘hard copies’ on the top floor) are included on both our own catalogue and the University’s LibrarySearch/Newton catalogue. A printed list of the journal holdings is available in the library. In order to release space the library intends, during 2012, to remove a large number of the hard copy journal collection, taking into account the availability of both online and hard copy access elsewhere.
Reserved items shelf: reserved items ready for collection. If there are no Library staff around you may take your reserved item from this shelf behind the library enquiry desk. Please note that all items taken from the reserved items shelf must be self issued or, if they are no longer wanted, handed to a member of staff or placed in the drop boxes.
Self issue screens (2): please issue items yourself where possible. Usage instructions are posted in situ. Self issue is safe to use with all borrowable items in the library including CDs and DVDs.
Enquiry screens (2+1): two screens dedicated to searching the University catalogues. Each tab accesses a different catalogue. Choose from our own catalogue (‘Heritage’), LibrarySearch, or Newton, and a tab with this site for reference. There is also one search screen dedicated to just LibrarySearch/Newton. Usage instructions for both LibrarySearch and Newton are posted in situ (see the University web resources page of this site for more on these systems).
MCS (Managed Cluster Service, formerly ‘PWF’) PCs (3): three PC workstations for general use by all College members. You will have your own login to use these computers. They can be used for most things including web access, email, Word, Excel, and a vast array of other software provided by the University. You can also access to your own personal workspace, webspace, and printing account which are administered by the University’s Desktop Services.
You are welcome to bring your own computer into the Library. In common with many other universities (most Cambridge University sites, and universities elsewhere in the UK and the world), the library offers the Eduroam wi-fi service for internet access and connecting to your Desktop Services account for printing etc.
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Create an Eduroam account, free of charge, by accessing the ’Eduroam Setup’ option in the list of wifi services and following the instructions.
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To print from your own computer to a Desktop Services printer you need to install the PaperCut application.
MCS Apple Mac (1): We have one Apple Mac MCS workstation which is on the ground floor. IT Department have informed us that you cannot purchase printer credits on the Mac (but you can print from it).
Printer (1): An HP Color LaserJet A4 printer in the library connected to Desktop Services. You can print from your own computer and the MCS workstations. Print credits must be purchased to enable use of the printer. Refer to http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/desktop-services/ for an introduction to the University Desktop Services and all aspects of printing. Print credit instructions are at http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/desktop-services/ds-print/. Please note: you cannot buy print credit using the Apple Mac PWF, but you can print from it.
Scanners (2): There are two Epson V500 scanners on the ground floor, one connected to a PC workstation and one to the Apple Mac workstation. The scanners should be used only with the workstations they are connected to, they will not operate with another workstation. Thus users wishing to do scanning should be allowed priority at these workstations—especially the PC workstation of which there are many more in the library. Special attachments are available for scanning photographic negatives and slides (ask Library staff for these). For basic scanning adequate for most documents, simply start scanning—the scanning application will automatically start up and your scan will be saved in your My Pictures folder. Some brief instructions are kept by the scanner. For comprehensive instructions see this Epson User Guide.
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Note that when scanning with the Mac you must change the ‘Scan to’ folder from ‘Pictures’ to one of the other options on the drop down list.
Book drop boxes (2): just inside the main entrance to the Library. Return all items into these boxes (some very large items will not fit through the letterbox-style opening and these should be handed in to library staff or, if that is not possible, left on the enquiry desk with an appropriate note). Please return Homerton College Library items only to the drop boxes: we do not take back books from any other library.
Request Book: If the Library does not hold an item which is important for your course please enter it in our Request Book on the Library Enquiry Desk. Note this service is generally limited to items suitable for Part 1 of Tripos.
Library Incident Book: this should be filled in if you set off the alarm when leaving the Library when there are no staff present. Enter the information requested. The book is located just outside the security gates near the main exit doors. (During staffed hours please see a member of staff and do not fill in the book).
Floor 1
Work tables
Main Library sequence (ML) (continued): Dewey Decimal 900-999, History and geography main subject degree-level material.
Children’s Literature Collection (CLC): (Dewey Decimal 800-899, green sticker). An extensive range of children’s fiction and books about children’s fiction.
Note that some very large children’s books are kept in two wheeled filing boxes in order of their shelfmark. These are marked as ‘Big book’ in our catalogue.
Oversized Collection (OS): books too big for the standard shelves, mainly art books. Blue sticker.
Past exam papers: shelved by service lift after 900s. Bound volumes of past Cambridge University examination papers from academic year 2001-2 onwards. Reference only. These are now being made available online: a pilot service is running with the 2008-2011 past papers (access via Raven password).
MCS (Managed Cluster Service, formerly ‘PWF’) PCs (2): as above.
Photocopier: an A3 black & white Kyocera photocopier operated by a pre-loaded copy card purchased for £5 from the Porters Lodge (just outside the Library entrance). Each card gives ~70 A4 photocopies with no expiry date. If you don’t want to purchase a card you can borrow a card from the Library enquiry desk for small volumes of ad hoc copying at 10p per A4 sheet copied.
Floor 2
Work tables and carrels
Multimedia Collection (MMC): cds and dvds borrowable in the same way and for the same 2 week period as books. However, note that some dvds which are needed for course work are restricted to 2-day loan. Dvds have a blue spot.
Homerton College Music Collection: music scores and sets of part scores which can be hired out. Yellow sticker (note that main subject music texts are on the Ground Floor). Information about the music score hire service, which is run in conjunction with Christ’s College, is at http://www.christs.cam.ac.uk/current-students/library/music-hire/. Please make all enquiries about the collection to us at library@homerton.cam.ac.uk.
Journals (PER): a large collection of back issues (not current issues, which are mostly online) of academic journals arranged in alphabetical order by title. All our hard copy journal holdings are included on both our own catalogue and the University’s Newton catalogue and a printed list is available in the library. Journals are reference only. Where online access is available to a journal we include a link to it in our library catalogue. To release space, and in common with other libraries of the University, many of our hard copy journals (those available online and/or elsewhere) are due to be removed from the library during 2012.
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Note: there is a selection of current general magazines and newspapers on the ground floor in the reading area. The most recent issues (usually the four latest issues) are here and the last five days’ newspapers.
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Note: most academic journals are now also accessible online—at least for the more recent years’ issues. The University Library offers access to some 20,000+ titles via ejournals@cambridge (see University Resources page of this site).
Local Collection (LC): a large collection of material about Cambridge and the surrounding region. Reference only, labelled ‘Local Collection Floor 2’.
MCS (Managed Cluster Service, formerly ‘PWF’) PCs (3): as above.
Reference items (other than Quick Reference QREF section above)
Reference items not in the QREF section—there are very few of these—are shelved with borrowable items at the same DDC number. Red spot.
Work/study areas
Floor 1 (middle floor) and Floor 2 (top floor) are furnished with tables for use as work/study areas. There are a number of carrels on Floor 2 for more private study.
