Homerton College library is the best library in Cambridge: Here’s why

A library hermit’s take on Homerton superiority

3 years ago

Opinion

The term is relatively new and people are attempting to shake off their Christmas holiday slumber and get back into the swing of work (admittedly, some more successfully than others) – and as painful as it may be to admit, the impending onslaught of essays means library trips will become more and more regular.

I will admit though, I’m a sucker for a good library. They offer an atmosphere that your room just can’t. There’s no better kick up the backside than the patter of the keyboards of those who are being more productive than you to motivate you to get work done. They also offer a change of scenery, keeping things fresh and inspiring creativity. But, the bottom line is, they force you to do work when you probably really don’t want to.

Whether you were up the night before at 4am due to an essay crisis or you’re hungover from one too many tequilas at Rumboogie, libraries take away the ever tempting option of crawling into bed and wrapping yourself in your duvet like a burrito when you should be getting work done – which we’ve all fallen victim to at some point.

But which library is the best? The 100-plus selection that Cambridge students have at their disposal offers a lot of options, but having visited a good amount, I would give the top spot to the Homerton College library. As a proud Homertonian, this may not be the most shocking revelation, but I would go choose it over a trip to the University Library or the Seeley Library any day and here’s why.

Tidy space, tidy mind

Now, I understand that the appearance of the library is not the most traditional, so all of you dark academia fanatics reading this might disagree with me. However, I just think there is something so satisfying in its simplicity.

Homerton library at its finest (Image Credit: Sophia Liversidge)

Its minimalist look is extremely easy on the eye and allows you to focus on your work with few distractions – and with supo work and essays coming out of your ears, you will probably agree that we need as few distractions as possible.

No, it does not possess the grandeur of the University library, or Trinity College’s Wren library – but, controversially, this makes me love it even more. At the end of the day, we are all busy students – and I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to get distracted by the idea of living out my Hogwarts fantasy.

The atmosphere

As I am sure most of you will be able to appreciate, imposter syndrome at Cambridge is real. The dreaded thoughts of, “”What if they admitted me by mistake?”, or “What if my application was mixed up with someone else’s?” are fairly common, and speaking from personal experience, the big, ornate libraries can sometimes be intimidating.

However, with its down-to-earth atmosphere, Homerton Library is the perfect antidote for imposter syndrome – after all, we do have a reputation as the friendliest college in Cambridge!

Thus, whilst the University Library is undoubtedly stunning, there’s just something a bit too intimidating about banging out a 2000-word essay with a huge portrait of King George I staring into your soul…

His eyes seem to follow you… (Image Credit: Jack Deasley)

**The very interesting selection of books**

This is without a doubt the best thing about Homerton library. Absolutely nowhere else can you go from reading “Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes to the incredibly academic “Maisy’s Colours” – a highly comprehensive guide to the colour spectrum for toddlers.

There really is no better way to bring you back down to earth just when you become too big for your academic boots. The contrast will never cease to entertain me – after all, nothing screams academic curiosity like Maisy’s Colours…

The best book in the best library (Image Credit: Sophia Liversidge)

Homerton superiority

All of this being said, it goes without saying that the Homerton library reigns supreme and will always occupy the top spot. You may disagree with me, but I’m afraid you would be wrong.

Feature Image Credits: Sophia Liversidge