Latest news

Please note that our current opening times are 12-2pm on weekdays, and 10am-12pm on the first Saturday of the month. 

***

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement for a roadmap out of lockdown, you can see here our plans for re-opening the Library in stages. All of these plans are subject to Government regulations, Cathedral procedures, and the availability of our volunteer Library team, so please always check for updates.

The Click & Collect service will continue throughout.

19 April: Library re-opens after Easter

Members are welcome back into the library during opening hours for browsing, borrowing and returning books. Numbers will be restricted, and no working in the Library will be permitted until after 17 May at the earliest (desks will be bookable). Masks should be worn and hands sanitised.

21 June: Library restrictions are eased

Members can work in and visit the Library more freely, and we hope to increase our opening hours. Some restrictions may remain in place to keep our Library team and visitors safe, such as the wearing of masks, distancing, and use of sanitiser.

6 September: Library re-opens after the Summer

Members can visit the Library freely during opening hours, and we hope to be able to open in the evening before Certificate courses. We may also be able to re-introduce self-service to extend opening hours during the day.

***

Friends of the Holy Land Challenge: Richard, one of our Library Team, is walking 84 miles (the distance from Bethlehem to Nazareth) to raise money to support education for children with learning difficulties in the Holy Land. If you wish to support him a he raises money for this excellent cause, please click here. 

***

Welcome to the Cathedral Library

The Cathedral Library is a modern theological lending library.  Members have access to:

• A wide collection including books on theology, biblical studies, spirituality, philosophy, and ethics
• Comprehensive resources on the history of the abbey
• Language resources for reading Hebrew, New Testament Greek, Latin and Old English
• A quiet space to read, write or research
• A Click & Collect service which allows members to reserve books online for collection. 

More information on Click & Collect

Search our catalogue 

Please click here to access our online catalogue, which includes searchable digitised images from our archives.

Search our Catalogue

Helpsheets

We have prepared some handy helpsheets which take you through how to search for, reserve and renew books, as well as information for those needing to undertake research online. All of them start with the instruction to log in to the main catalogue page, which you can do using the button above.   

Search for a book        Reserve a book online       Renew a book     

Online Research Resources

Become a member

We charge an annual membership fee to help us keep the library running. You do not need to be a member to use the library, only to borrow books. Fees are as follows: 

General Readers: £20 per year

Cathedral Volunteers and Students from other institutions: £10 per year

Cathedral Guides, Library/Archive Team, SACT Students: free

We are currently offering 15 months' membership instead of 12 for our yearly membership to reflect the fact that we had to close our services for 3 months during the pandemic.  

You can send us a cheque (payable to St Albans Cathedral Learning), or sign up using a standing order form. If setting up a new standing order form this year, please ensure that you enter a start date of 3 months in the future to ensure that you get your 3 months extra free membership. Please email us to let us know when this has been set up. 

General Readers: SO         Cathedral Volunteers/Students: SO

Contact the library

You can email our fantastic team of library volunteers, or call 01727 890222.

Opening dates and hours

The Library is currently closed to visitors. However, you can find here dates and times for when we are going to be open/closed in the coming year (subject to Government regulations and Library team availability). Please check that you are looking at the correct times for the different stages of opening up following lockdown. 

31 March: Library closes for Easter holiday

19 April: Library opens 12-2pm weekdays,  10-noon on 1st Saturday of the month

21 June: Library opens 10am-2.30pm weekdays, 10-noon on 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month

31 July: Library closes for Summer holiday

6 September: Library opens 10am-6pm weekdays, 10-noon on 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, plus before evening courses

17 December: Library closes for Christmas holiday

Photo: Craig Sheppheard