It’s amazing how much we’ve changed since you joined us (unless you’ve just joined us, in which case we are busy changing even as I type this!). We are always keen to hear what our clients think and want, and we are forever watching to spot what you find challenging. Our ongoing Customer Service Excellence Standard recognition shows our ongoing commitment to delivering the best service possible as our staff “go the extra mile” and embed enhancements to your Library experience across the board. So, what’s gotten better?

Anyone can injure themselves and find it difficult to carry books around, and while we make as many books available electronically as possible, a few books remain only available in print, while some people prefer to read from printed books, particularly when they study for extended periods. Often, academic books tend to be the sort of heavy book with which you can prop open a door or build a small bunker.

Happily, between our postal loans, wheeled book trolleys, and click and collect service, both our print and electronic books are easily available to everyone.

One reason ebooks are so popular is that they are always available but since print books renew themselves automatically once borrowed, if you want a print book that is on loan to someone else, you really want to reserve it! 

All books you or anyone else borrow are renewed automatically until someone else reserves them. As soon as you reserve a copy using the Library Catalogue, we will email the person with the book due soonest and ask them to bring it back within one week.  Once they bring it back, we will email you to let you know it is on the reservation shelves in the Atrium, waiting for you to collect.  Since the Library is open 24/7 and you can borrow books online, this means you can collect books 24/7.

Are you a budding artist, designer or hobbyist? Are you passionate about a social issue, your home country, or an academic subject? Is there an academic or work-based project that you have completed that fascinated you and that you would like to share with others? The library display space is available to all students and staff to share their interests with the world, from art and design to photographic collections, painted miniature collections, academic posters suitable for a general audience or more conceptual pieces.

Don’t miss Dr John Kannenberg’s public talk exploring the Museum of Portable Sound at 5.30 pm on Friday 26 January 2024, where John will be giving an introduction to the Museum, playing some of the sounds in the collection, and offering a walkthrough of the Sounds Beyond Music exhibits from the Museums’ Physical Objects Collection.

From tales of Christmases past from around the world, an encyclopedia dedicated to nothing but Christmas, a streamed theatre production of a modern take on Dicken’s classic “A Christmas Carol” or a slew of classic Christmas movies and documentaries available through our free streaming service, Kanopy, there is plenty from the Library to keep you entertained through the holiday season.