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Library Services for Visitors

A summary of the Library services we can make available to visitors and non-members at the University of Bath Library.

General information for visitors

Members of the public over the age of 16 without any university affiliation may visit the Library during the periods listed below:

Visitors without a library membership card or another University affiliation will be expected to sign-in at the Security point in the Library entrance at each visit. Please bring a form of identification when you visit.

If you would be interested in a paid membership which grants an access card with loan rights, please refer to the guidance online or contact Library staff via library@bath.ac.uk in the first instance in relation to starting or reinstating your paid membership and we will advise accordingly.

(University of Bath Alumni should link to our Library Services for Alumni webpage for details of the services we can provide you).

Study Spaces

Study Spaces are available on all levels of the Library. All spaces are designated Quiet Study with the exception of study rooms and Level 2 where a level of noise associated with group working is permitted.

Link to PDF floorplans below:

There is a Lift to all floors available for use. In the event of any lift outage, please refer to Security staff for advice if you are having problems accessing the upper floors during a period when the wider Library is unstaffed.

Toilets

Gender neutral toilets are available on Levels 2 and 3 of the Library.

Accessible Toilets are provided on Levels 2 and 3.
Due to refurbishment, toilet facilities on Levels 4 and 5 are currently unavailable.

Connecting to Wifi

If you are visiting the campus or other University buildings you can use the 'WiFi Guest' network.

Further information about connecting your device to the guest network

Visitor access to online information resources

With the growth of the open access movement, a large volume of research is available for free online. Often Creative Commons licences provide possibilities for reusing this information.

We have gathered up a list of free resources you might find useful.

Access to additional online subscription resources is possible from the dedicated public-access catalogue computers in the library building. These are positioned near the Library staffed service points on Levels 2-5.

Please note that no printing or downloading is possible from these computers.

Where permitted, ebooks and ejournals accessible to visitors can be accessed using the catalogue terminals while in the Library as described above.

Unfortunately, due to licencing agreements with publishers, the Library is unable to grant full access to all our online database, ejournal and ebook resources to visitors as a campus network username and password is required. These login details are only granted to current students and staff.

Archives and Research Collections

  • The University Archives contain both documents relating to the University and also archival special collections connected with local residents or members of the University.

  • Anyone with a genuine interest is welcome to use the archives, which can be viewed by appointment between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

  • Visit the Archives and Research collections pages for more information

Using the Library

You can search the catalogue to find print books and journals from our collection. The catalogue is found on our Library homepage and can be searched from home or in the Library using the catalogue terminals near staffed offices or using your own personal device with a web connection.

You may find the following video guides for searching the catalogue created for our students useful.

Visitor access to the University of Bath Library

Enquiries

If you have any questions, please contact us.

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