Cambridge University gets £7m technology library

Cambridge University today announced plans to build Europe's biggest technology library, thanks to a £7.5m donation from Gordon Moore, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel, and his wife Betty.

The library will contain specialist technology books and unique manuscripts, including physicist Stephen Hawking's early works. It will include Internet access points for up to 300 readers.

Peter Fox, university librarian, told Silicon.com: "The infrastructure will be based on the university's Janet backbone. We won't have a bandwidth problem." Fox said that the Internet would "almost exclusively" replace the university's CD ROM archives.

The university's vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Alec Broers, used to work at IBM and he approached Moore personally to request the donation. "It was one of those perfect donations where someone gives you all the money you want," said Fox.

The Physical Sciences and Technology Library is still at the planning stages, but builders are due to go on site in October 1999. It is due to open in October 2001.