Ever wanted to see Isaac Newton’s original research, view the original plans for the Cambridge Observatory or visit the home of Churchill’s personal papers? You can this weekend when a selection of Cambridge’s libraries opens to the public.

For the first time Open Cambridge, a weekend of free tours, talks and open access to University and College buildings which takes place from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September, will include 15 of the University’s prestigious libraries.

Highlights include:
- an exhibition by Lucy Cavendish College Library on the life of Anna McLean Bidder (1903-2001), a zoologist and the College's first President. The exhibition will reflect three of the most important facets of the life of Anna Bidder: her science research interests, Quakerism, and the foundation and early history of Lucy Cavendish College

- a display of the original papers of Cambridge scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Alan Turing at King’s College Library and an exhibition on King’s Global Warming Collection, the first in the world to have been set up from scratch to cover all aspects and scales of global warming

- a selection of photos, pictures and plans at the Institute of Astronomy Library showing the history of Cambridge’s neo-classical Observatory, including trails of the famous Northumberland Telescope, the largest in the world when it was installed in 1838

- a display of poems entered in the Haddon Library poetry competition and inspired by the University’s 800th anniversary celebrations. The winner, as chosen by poet Sue Butler, will be announced on 25th September.

In addition to the open libraries and tours of Cambridge’s historic Colleges and grounds, Open Cambridge this year includes a series of talks on the theme of the 800th anniversary. Highlights include demystifying the Cambridge Collegiate system, and exploring how the University and the town existed alongside each other 800 years ago.

A community art exhibition will also be taking place at the Cambridge University Press Pitt Building.

Joanna McPhee, Festivals and Outreach Officer responsible for Open Cambridge, said: "We are really excited that so many of the University's libraries are opening up to the public this year - the University's 800th anniversary - in addition to the Colleges and their grounds. We hope people will enjoy being able to share our rich, centuries-old local heritage."

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