Davidson Library

The Davidson Library is a small collection which serves the needs of the Department. It contains books from the undergraduate reading list, material relating to the Design Project, MPhil course and of relevance to research in the Department. The whole collection consists of 4,700 monographs, over 2,000 bound volumes of journals, almost 600 doctoral dissertations and 10 year collection of research reports and examination papers. The departmental library was extended and renamed as the Davidson Library in 1993 to mark the retirement of Professor John F Davidson from his position as Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering and Head of Department.

Library address

Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
University of Cambridge
New Museums Site (map)
Pembroke Street
Cambridge CB2 3RA

Opening times

Library: 24 hours access to the members of the Department
Library Office: In the main the office is open from 10.00 a.m. -1.00 p.m. and 2.00 - 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday- these hours do vary occasionally.

Library Staff

Academic Librarian - Dr. Jim Thompson jwt3@cam.ac.uk
Library Assistant - Mrs. Helen Stevens Smith hcs24@cam.ac.uk
Library Assistant - Dr. Inna Livshitz il230@cam.ac.uk

General Information

CATALOGUE All the library material is catalogued and can be found on the Newton Library Catalogue, which can be accessed free on line, also from the computers situated in the Esso Design Project Room adjacent to the library. The useful information on how to search the catalogue can be found in the Searching the Newton Catalogue leaflet.

JOURNALS The library currently subscribes to 14 scientific journals and holds over 70 discontinued titles , most of which can be found through the Newton catalogue. The full list of the periodical titles together with their detailed holdings and locations is also displayed in front of the library office issue desk for quick reference.

LOCATIONS Books, in the class order, all current and some discontinued (bound) periodicals (in the title alphabetical order) are on open shelves in the main library room. The latest issues of the current journals are displayed on the periodical stand at the far end of the library.  A large selection of books is reserved for Part I, IIA, IIB, Design Project or MPhil study projects and stored in locked cabinets. These items are available for short term loan (overnight only) and can be obtained directly from the Library Assistant. PhD thesis, MPhil dissertations, unbound periodicals, CPGS reports, IIB Research Projects and Tripos Papers are also stored in the locked cupboards and are available for examination or borrowing through the issue desk.

READING FACILITIES The Library provides seating for 30 readers, 12 of these in the Main Library Room. Numerous guides on shelves and information displayed on the library notice board should help the users to find their way around the Library.

Admission

Only students and members of the Department, who are registered via the computerised system, may borrow from the library. Members of the other Departments of the Cambridge University may use the Library for REFERENCE ONLY. All visitors to the library must report to the Reception and sign in before introducing themselves to the Library Assistant in the Library Office. All enquiries should be made to the Library Assistant on duty during opening hours.

Borrowing regulation

The borrowing system is automated and the Library has a self-issuing system installed. In order to borrow books a University card is required. Only books on open shelves can be checked out via the circulation computer (self-check). All other material (reserved books, PhD thesis, CPGS Reports, MPhil dissertations and Part IIB Research Projects) can be obtained through the Library Assistant.

LOAN LIMITS

  • Maximum FIVE items (including ONE only from the reserved stock) can be on loan to each user at a time.
  • Books from the open shelf, thesis and reports can be borrowed for SEVEN days.
  • Reserved books - OVERNIGHT loan period only (from 3.00 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. next day).
  • All journals are FOR REFERENCE ONLY and may not be removed from the Library.

RENEWING Items on loan can be renewed up to three times (in the library via the self-check system or on line. Instruction on how to check the account and renew books on line. The self-check system will not allow borrowing over the permitted limits. If additional books or extended loan time are required please see the Library Assistant. Courtesy notices (two days prior to the return due date) and overdue notices will be emailed to the users automatically. Library currently does not charge the overdue fines, however the user's account may be blocked if books are not returned on time.

RETURNING On return books have to be posted to the RETURN BOX, not self-shelved (this would cause the user's account to be blocked).

REQUESTS Books which are currently on loan can be requested by filling in the form displayed in the library. Download form.

General rules

  • All borrowed items must be checked-out via the CIRCULATION COMPUTER.
  • In case of computer being unavailable the manual system of borrowing (RED EMERGENCY FOLDER) should be used instead.
  • No JOURNALS may be borrowed and removed from the library.
  • All returned books must be left in the RETURN BOX.
  • Periodicals or books removed from shelves for studying in the Library should be shelved after use.
  • No marks should be made in any book or journal.
  • FOOD and DRINK must not be brought to the Library.
  • MOBILE PHONES may not be used in the Library.
  • Readers working in the Main Library Room are asked to keep conversation to a minimum; the Esso Design Project Room may be used as a teaching area.

Photocopying

A photocopier is located within the Library. A user account is created online, with the usual amount of £5.00 for 100 copies (plus 10 scans).  This is now dealt with by the librarians. The copyright rules must be observed when copying from books or journals (displayed by the photocopier).

Electronic resources

On-line access is available to electronic books and electronic journals subscribed to by the University Library and Web of Science. Recently developed Science Portal website provides relevant links to specific subject areas and will help you navigate library services, find a book, locate a journal or article, navigate a database, and find quality sites on the Internet. Support for research and teaching can be received through a University Library subscription to Elsevier's Scopus database. Access to the very best web resources for education and research is provided also by Intute which is a national free service for UK HE.

Computers within the cam.ac.uk domain are allowed unrestricted access but a Raven password is required for the off-campus access.

Teaching Materials

Course materials are now being posted on Camtools. Please see the Resources section in ChemEng Undergraduate Coursework. However, solutions to the examples papers are not put on the web. These are available for reference from the library office. Please note, as agreed at a meeting of the Directors of Studies, cribs from the previous term are not allowed to be given out until the end of the current term.

Contact

In case of any query or need of help please do not hesitate to contact us by email library@cheng.cam.ac.uk or by phone 01223 330148.