Its original location was the Old Schools near the Senate House until it outgrew the space there and a new library building was constructed in the 1930s. The library took over the site of a former military hospital on the western side of Cambridge city centre, now between Robinson College and the Memorial Court of Clare College. The current building, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, opened in 1934. The librarian, Dr Jessica Gardner, is the second woman to hold this office.