Frederick William Ratcliffe (born 1927) is an English philologist and librarian. He has a Ph.D. in German, given for his thesis on Heinrich von Mügeln at the University of Manchester. From 1954 he was an assistant librarian or sublibrarian in the universities of Manchester, Glasgow, and Newcastle upon Tyne. He succeeded Moses Tyson

Moses Tyson

Moses Tyson , historian and librarian, was keeper of western manuscripts at the John Rylands Library 1927-1935 and from 1935 to 1965 librarian of the Manchester University Library...

 as the University Librarian at Manchester in 1965 and from 1972 was additionally director of the John Rylands University Library

John Rylands University Library

The John Rylands University Library is the University of Manchester's library and information service. It was formed in July 1972 from the merger of the library of the Victoria University of Manchester with the John Rylands Library...

. In 1980 he became University Librarian

Cambridge University Library

The Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of Cambridge University in England. It comprises five separate libraries:* the University Library main building * the Medical Library...

 at the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

where he remained until retirement. He has written a number of papers on the subject of librarianship including the preservation of library materials.

Selected writings

• 1966-1980: University of Manchester. Librarian's report, 1966-1980
• 1980: "The Scholar in the Academic Library" in: B. C. Bloomfield, ed., Middle East Studies and Libraries: a felicitation volume for Professor J. D. Pearson. London: Mansell Information Publishing; pp. 163-178
• 1980: "Archival Responsibilities of University Libraries" in Journal of Librarianship and Information Science vol. 12 (1980) pp. 71-83
• 1982: The Role of the Modern University Library. 23 pp. Darwin
• 1991: "Preservation and Scholarship in Libraries" in Library Review vol. 40 (1991) pp. 62-71
• 2007: Books, Books, Just Miles and Miles of Books: across the library counter, 1950–2000. 317 p.; 31 cm. Cambridge: F. W. Ratcliffe (unpublished autobiography, held at Cambridge University Library)