Hereford Cathedral Library

City/town

Hereford

address

5 College Cloisters, Hereford, HR1 2NG

Telephone

01432 374225

Contact & Job Title

Dr Rosemary Firman, Cathedral Librarian

Purpose & main user community of the library

To care for the cathedral’s historic collections of books, archives, images and objects (including the Hereford Mappa Mundi and the Hereford Cathedral Chained Library); to provide appropriate access to them for researchers at all levels, students and members of the public, through reading room access, exhibitions, talks and visits, online catalogues and social media; to provide a modern lending and reference library which supports religious studies and research on the cathedral’s history.

Terms of access

Open to all, free of charge

Opening hours

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am–4pm; 1st Saturday of each month 10am–1pm. Other times by appointment.

Disabled access

Lift to all floors, accessible toilet, parking by arrangement

Lending to other libraries & visitors

Lending library open to all; inter-library loan of lending books on request; loans of historic books and documents to exhibitions.

Number of volumes

c20,000

Periodicals – Back Issues

90 titles (total, including current)

Current Periodicals

30 titles

Other materials

Archives, images (including digital), museum objects

Volumes added per year

c.300

Coverage

Books from the 8th century to the present, mainly on religious and historical subjects.

Special Collections

Library of the Hereford College of Vicars Choral; Library of All Saints Parish Church Hereford; More Parish Library (on deposit); Library of Lady Hawkins School Kington (on deposit).

Manuscripts

229 medieval manuscript books

Catalogue Type

Printed books online; medieval manuscripts published catalogue; archives partly on TNA Discovery

URL of catalogue
Other facilities

Microfilm reader; photocopying

Full Time Staff

2

Part Time Staff

1

Voluntary Staff

9