Our services: Using the Library: Browse and Borrow

Browse and Borrow

Browse and Borrow is available to students and staff. You can access the Bill Bryson Library for up to an hour to browse the shelves and borrow any books you require. At the moment, we're asking you to limit your bookings to four per week, to allow everyone opportunity to visit us. 

You will be able to access the library for up to an hour to browse the shelves and borrow any books you require. This booking won’t give access to any study spaces – if you wish to book a study space, please see details of our Stay and Study service.  

We will be expanding our Library opening hours from 5 October 2020, allowing us to offer more bookable timeslots for our services, with weekend opening commencing 10 October 2020. This is part of our phased re-opening, and you will see further increases in our opening hours during this term. Services and procedures will be kept under review and revised in line with Government and University guidance. More information to follow.

Things you need to know 

• Bookings are available Monday-Sunday between 8.15am-4.15am 
• There will be a number of timeslots available throughout our opening times for you to book 
• You are asked to leave promptly at the end of your booked timeslot. 
• Bookings will be released on a rolling week basis. For the purpose of the booking restrictions, one week runs from Sunday to Saturday. 
• You must bring your campus card in order to access the building during your booked slot and to borrow any books.
• We will only be allowing entry to users who have pre-booked. Once we have reached capacity for the day, we will be unable to allow any further bookings. 
• If you are unable to use your booking, please login to the Space Bookings system and use the ‘Manage your Order’ option to cancel your booking to allow the space to become available for someone else. 

Visiting us

• When visiting the Library, please wear a face covering in the building, unless exempt. 
• When moving around the building, please follow the route plans marked and maintain social distancing measures of 2metres. 
• Please ensure good hand hygiene - you should wash your hands regularly and use sanitiser on entry and exit of the building and before and after touching or using any books or equipment.
• For full details of the services and what to expect when visiting the Library, please visit our Services Guide. 

If you have symptoms of Covid-19 or have received a positive test result, you should self-isolate, book a Covid-19 test and inform the University - you must not visit the Library. Please visit our webpages for full details.

How to book 

• Visit our Space Booking system as of Thursday 1 October 
• Select to make an individual booking for the service you require 
• Select the date you wish to book  
• Select the space you wish to book, depending on capacity 
• Select the time you wish to attend from those available 
• You will then need to validate and confirm your booking before your space is confirmed 
• You must bring your campus card on the day to access the building and to borrow any books.
• You are able to book up to one hour before your chosen timeslot. 

If you have any problems when booking, please contact our Virtual Enquiry Desk.