Cambridge Digital Library

Page-by-page searching

Fundamental changes have been made to the search functionality, giving clearer page-by-page results with thumbnail images.

The Virtual Exhibitions site is now live at https://exhibitions.lib.cam.ac.uk/ and links have been added to relevant items to integrate with the Digital Library.

Virtual exhibits

We have created a new collection to gather together items being featured in Library exhibitions. The initial selection provides a sneak preview of Spanish and English pamphlets appearing in our 'Wrongdoing' exhibition, which opens to the public on 30th April. These items will also feature in an accompanying exhibition website and we will link them to that site once it is launched later this month.

Browse 1,200 letters between Charles Darwin and his close friend Joseph Hooker

These letters are a connecting thread that spans forty years of Darwin's mature working life from 1843 until his death in 1882. They bring into sharp focus every aspect of Darwin's scientific work throughout that period, and illuminate the mutual friendships he and Hooker shared with other scientists, but they also provide a window of unparalleled intimacy into the personal lives of the two men.

Maimonides fragments and Newton's dispute with Flamsteed released

In this release we are publishing a further 8,000 Genizah fragments, bringing our overall total to 12,000 available on the site. The Cairo Genizah Collection at Cambridge University Library is the world's largest and most important single collection of medieval Jewish manuscripts, and this selection includes three autograph texts by the greatest Jewish thinker of the Middle Ages, Moses Maimonides (T-S AS 111.164, T-S AS 149.89 and Mosseri VIII.24.1)

We are also releasing three Newton manuscripts - including MS Add.4006, which contains Newton's correspondence with John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal. The correspondence touches on the dispute between Flamsteed and the Royal Society (of which Newton was the President) over the publication of Flamsteed's observations. Newton required real observations of the Moon's place for his theoretical work, and Flamsteed, who was the holder of those observations, resented Newton's imperious demands. In 1712 publication went ahead without Flamsteed’s agreement, incensing the Astronomer Royal who referred to this as a 'villainous outrage'.

Log book of Captain Cook's astonishing Pacific and Antarctic voyage now online

In this release we are presenting an initial selection of our Longitude collection, including papers from the astonishing Pacific and Antarctic voyage of James Cook in 1772-1775. The digitised archive of the Board of Longitude, the majority of which will be released in July 2013, is a major resource for the history of science, and throws a vivid light on the role of the British state in encouraging invention and discovery, on the energetic culture of technical ingenuity in the eighteenth century, and on many aspects of exploration and maritime travel in the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic. We are also releasing eighteen further Newton manuscripts, including correspondence with major figures such as Halley and Flamsteed.

Build your own Digital Library with our Bookmarking tool

This release sees new bookmarking functionality which allows you to build your own digital collection within the Cambridge Digital Library. This is the first of many planned features for personal interaction with our material. We have also released some exciting new content, including two brand-new collections. Our initial selection of Christian Works includes a fully-transcribed presentation of the 4th century Biblical text the Codex Bezae, along with the earliest known Scottish manuscript, the Book of Deer. Among our Hebrew manuscripts is the Nash Papyrus, a second-century BCE fragment containing the text of the Ten Commandments. We have added important material to our Sanskrit and Islamic collections, and our Treasures collection now includes Henry VIII's personal copy of Erasmus' translation of Plutarch. We have also added over 3,000 new Genizah fragments, more than trebling the number of items available.

Launch of Sanskrit and Spanish Chapbook Collections

We have added more items to the Islamic Manuscripts and Newton collections - and have initiated two new collections: the Sanskrit Manuscripts and Spanish Chapbooks. Both these collections will grow over the next two years. We are also continuing to improve functionality, allowing you to search within transcribed manuscripts, displaying more information about each document and making bookmarking an individual page easier.

View the Library's treasures cover to cover

We have added more items to the Islamic Manuscripts and Newton collections - including several videos explaining Newton's work and ideas - and have initiated two new collections: the Cairo Genizah collection and Treasures of the Library. Both these collections will grow considerably over the the next few months. The initial Genizah collection includes a selection of seventy-two manuscripts, intended to show the wide range of material in this fascinating collection. Among the Treasures we've added to the Digital Library are the Codex Bezae, Life of St Edward the Confessor, Nuremberg Chronicle, and Montaigne's copy of Titi Lucretii Cari De rerum natura libri sex. The last three works are featured in the current Library exhibition, Shelf Lives . Now you can view these treasures in great detail, from cover to cover.

Islamic Manuscripts

We are pleased to announce the release of the first items within the Foundations of Faith collection: a selection of Islamic manuscripts from the Library's Near and Middle Eastern Department. The Library's collection of Islamic manuscripts began in the 1630s and has since grown substantially in its size and diversity. It now contains more than 5,000 works. Our initial selection includes several important early Qur'ans.

Upcoming Collections

In addition to the digitisation we have already planned for the Cambridge Digital Library, we are pleased to announce two externally-funded projects which will add significant content. The AHRC are providing funding for the cataloguing of our important Sanskrit manuscript collection, which includes some of the earliest surviving Buddhist manuscripts. Approximately 1000 of these manuscripts will be digitised and made available within the Cambridge Digital Library's Foundations of Faith collection. The JISC are funding the complete digitisation of the Board of Longitude papers, which provide a fascinating record of 18th century science and technology and the great voyages of discovery. This collection will be made available as part of the Foundations of Science collection and closely linked to collections held by the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. Please contact us for more information about these projects.

Introducing the Cambridge Digital Library

Over the next two years we will be adding a lot of content and functionality to this website. You'll be able to explore many of the Library's great collections and make use of them within your research and learning - whether that takes place within formal education or is a personal pursuit. Find out more about the Cambridge Digital Library.