Many books and periodicals are immediately available on the open shelves, while others are fetched within minutes of ordering. The computerised catalogue links all the Cambridge libraries and can be accessed throughout the University. In addition to your degree course, it is possible for you to study a language at the University's Language Centre . If you wish to obtain a formal qualification, assessed courses leading to a Certificate or Diploma are available in the principal European languages. Other courses cater for specialist needs, such as those of scientists or engineers.
Material is also available for private study in over a hundred and twenty languages.
There is a Language Learning Adviser who can help you to plan your learning and arrange conversation exchanges with native speakers in Cambridge. Thus, although language work is not built into most Cambridge degree courses, there are ample opportunities for you to develop a language that you have learnt at school, or to take one up from scratch. Every college has its own computer suite and a high proportion of student rooms are connected to the University network, for those bringing their own computers. Most of the collections, ranging from fossils to modern art, rock samples to Rembrandt, were begun in the nineteenth century and have developed and expanded since then, acquiring rare or unique material as well as the breadth of samples needed for study.