Library anxiety is common. The sheer scale of the building compared with school libraries can be off-putting, yet facing your fears builds confidence and capacity to face new challenges, so please head on in!
You can take a virtual tour of the Library on our website, experience a walking audio tour around the building to find where everything is in person, or if you find the thought of venturing in alone too daunting, drop us an email and a friendly member of staff can show you around and help you find the books for your course.
Finding books and ebooks
We buy ebooks for all required reading, wherever an ebook is available to libraries, so you can read on the move or from home if you prefer. Your reading lists will link to all the reading you need. If you prefer a printed book or a book is only available in print, you can always request it for collection in advance and library staff will make it available for you to collect from the Atrium.
We've lots of ways to make finding books yourself easier, as this video shows.
Finding books in the Library
While more and more library resources are electronic, some resources are not available online, and many people prefer to read the printed word.
From the Library search page, you can look for books and ebooks using the Library catalogue - the second search box down on the Library search page. Click “Location: University Library” to find only books that are available in print.
You can reserve up to ten books at a time using our Click & Collect service and library staff will find them and leave them for you to collect from the reservations collection point. If you request a book, please wait until you receive an email sent to your university email account telling you that your books are available for you to collect.
If you need your books immediately or just want to browse the shelves and find what else is available on a topic, click the title of a book you want. The classmark number for a book is shown in a grey strip across the middle of its catalogue record.
Library books are arranged on the shelves by classmark number. All the books on a subject will typically have a similar classmark and can be found together, making it easier to find everything on a topic.
You can view maps showing the shelf location for books held in the Library using our printed book locations page. You can then look along that shelf to find the classmark and the book you want.
Remember you can ask a member of library staff to help you.
Happy reading!
Computers galore
The Library is the largest open access computer suite on campus, with over 1000 desktop computers and docking stations where you can connect your own device and still enjoy a large desktop monitor, keyboard and mouse and over 400 full-size, high power loanable laptops that you can borrow and use anywhere in the Library building. You can also connect your own device to our high speed 'Eduroam' Wi-Fi network and plug in to charge it. Power sockets are under the tables on the ground floor and in the floor and walls on the upper floors.
Scanning and printing
You can scan, photocopy and print anything you need in the Library, including large format posters up to 2A0 size. IT Helpers are on hand to help solve any computing and IT challenges you might face.
Printing in the library
All the printers in the library, both black & white and colour, are located on the ground floor. Any print job can be collected from any printer on campus. Simply place your student card over the card reader until you hear a “beep” and your printing should appear within a few seconds. If nothing comes out, please check you have enough printing credit to pay for all your printing and if you still have a problem, ask at the nearest staffed help desk. You need to ask an IT helper to release large format printing because it costs significantly more. Please ask a member of staff on the ground floor.
Making the Library accessible for everyone
From PCs with adjustable height desks, ergonomic computer chairs, and additional accessibility software including screen magnifiers and alternative computer mice to access to the RNIB Bookshare collection of books in accessible formats, there are many ways we can make our resources accessible if you have a physical disability, visual impairment or struggle to read print.
Please contact us as early as possible if you think you might have additional visual or print reading difficulty. The earlier you tell us, the sooner we can put the support you might need in place to ensure you succeed.
Your accessible library
We believe that everyone is different and that making our services and spaces as inclusive as possible benefits everyone. For anyone with specific learning needs, we offer a range of additional services to ensure you can enjoy the same quality of study experience as everyone else.
Wheeled baskets and lifts to all floors make moving printed books much easier to move around the library. If you are pressed for time, struggle to find books on the shelves, or simply don't want to wander around the Library, the Click & Collect service makes it easier to read all the books you need. Reserve any books you want through the Library Catalogue, and we will email you when they are available from the collection point in the atrium.
If you need a book in a hurry, our friendly staff can also fetch books for you during staffed hours. Wherever possible, we supply electronic versions of everything listed as essential reading on your reading lists and our electronic resources are almost all accessible, and screen reader compatible, so you can use a screen reader to listen to any eresources rather than read.
Anyone who finds a standard computer setup uncomfortable is welcome to email us to book one of our accessible computers, with adjustable height desks, ergonomic chairs and additional accessibility software. If you are studying at a distance or don't want to come into the Library we can email you scans of book chapters and journal articles or post entire books to you. Simply complete a request form on the Postal Loans Library webpage and we'll do the rest.
While some people find the energy and bustle of the Library environment to be stimulating, others find noise and motion distracting. If you enjoy being around other people but find noise distracting, ask for free sound-cancelling earplugs at the Reception Desk. Our drop-in meeting pods and bookable group study rooms also reduce incoming and outgoing sounds.
The Individual Study Zone on the second floor offers a quiet space, free from talking, and with desk dividers that reduce visual distractions. Arriving earlier in the day helps ensure the library is quiet when you arrive, so you can gather everything you need and retreat to the silent zone in peace. Our individual study pods allow you to close the door and the outside world and enjoy a splendid isolation from all distractions with personal ventilation and adjustable lighting.
If you have any difficulty using print materials, please let your Faculty Librarian know as soon as possible. You can find your Faculty Librarian’s contact details on your subject pages on the Library website or email us and we will put you in touch. Your Faculty Librarian will discuss your needs and how we can help and supply materials in alternative formats, such as audio books through the RNIB Bookshare. This can all take time to set up, so the sooner you make contact and let us know your particular needs, the sooner we can work with you to make sure they are met.
We hope you will enjoy using the University Library. If you would like to know more about any Library facilities and services, please get in touch and we will be happy to help.
Library staff are here to help
From demonstrating eresources and helping you find all the information for your assignments at the Library Help Desk to answering your questions in real time through our 24/7 online chat service - always staffed by a live librarian, never an AI bot!
The other place you can find lots of great advice is your subject page. Under "Subjects" on the library website, find your subject area. Your subject page will walk you through finding everything for your assignments, from the first steps to referencing tips. Online chat is brilliant for getting referencing advice as well because you can share a link to those things you want to reference and a library referencing expert can point you to the specific advice to cite and reference it correctly.
If you have any questions I've not answered here, please chat to us online or in person and we will be delighted to answer them.
See you soon!
How we can help you
Library Staff are here to help you
We understand that university study can seem daunting but friendly Library staff are here to help you. You can get instant answers to most questions at any time 24/7 by chatting to a librarian in real-time online. For general enquiries, you can also phone us, and you can always email the library and we will respond as quickly as we can.
Library staff are here in person to help you find books and explain how things work. You can always sit down with a librarian for a face-to-face demonstration of how to use library resources, get help finding information, improve your referencing skills or answer any other academic questions. Pop in and see us anytime between 11 am and 3 pm Monday to Friday each week. The office is just off the Atrium.
If you need more help with your referencing than we can offer, you can book a referencing skills session. For more in-depth academic enquiries, you can also make an appointment with your subject team for truly expert help finding highly specialist academic information. You can find the contact details for your subject team on your Subject page on the library website. So, if you need help with anything, please ask! We are always here to help.