Information Technology and Libraries: Cambridge University Library to join Google Arts and Culture

Audiences across the globe will be able to explore some of the treasures of Cambridge University Library on the Google Arts and Culture platform.

Cambridge University Library (UL) is the first institution of the University of Cambridge to join the platform, which integrates organisations to share their collections freely, and openly, with the world.

The Cambridge University Library is one of the oldest university libraries in the English-speaking world. It holds nearly ten million books, maps, manuscripts and curious objects spanning more than 4,000 years of human history, in more than 2,000 languages.

The partnership with Google Arts and Culture will improve and enlarge the availability of over 50,000 objects, which digital copies are in free access in the Cambridge Digital Library. The Digital Library has recorded over 20 million web browsings since its launch in 2011.

The Cambridge University Library will continue to add new objects and treasures to the platform in the next months. Probably, the platform will soon involve Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge University Art and History Museum) and other institutions of the University of Cambridge with rich collections.