Supporting you with your teaching and research
We provide a wide range of resources and services to support teaching and research. We collaborate with you to design and deliver library classes to your groups. Please contact us to arrange an induction if you are a new member of staff.
If you are interested in publishing your research, the dedicated team in Sunderland offer support.
Subject Resources
We purchase books for the London Library based on subjects studied on Campus and what you recommend in Library Reading Lists. We also purchase books based on your additional recommendations.
- Please check Library Search first to see whether we already have the book you want purchased.
- If not, contact us as soon as you can with the all the details of the book (we will purchase the latest edition).
- Please tell us the module for which the book is (preferably the module code) and how many students are on the module.
- If the book is available to purchase (e.g. it is not out of print), we will purchase it and you will receive a notification from the system when it arrives.
- We will also purchase an electronic version of the book if available.
Important: Journals and databases are purchased by the University Library Services in Sunderland. Please contact your counterpart in Sunderland if you want to recommend a journal or database to be purchased.
Study Skills Support
Our training sessions and Study Skills pages help your students learn about academic resources, the research process, and the UoS referencing style to successfully complete their written work.
These sessions and resources are designed to guide your students through stages of writing such as:
- identifying their initial reading in order to get started
- carrying out research to find relevant material to answer a specific question
- referencing to avoiding plagiarism
Our sessions also provide advice on most reliable, up-to-date academic and industry publications on your subject area.
Please contact us to arrange a session for your group before your students start their written work.
If you identify a student who is behind or missed our classes, please encourage them to book an individual session or join one of our advertised drop-in sessions.
Borrowing and Returning Books
To borrow books, you will need your staff card, which is your library card as well.
- Find your book in Library Search.
- Look to see whether the book is listed as 'Available', meaning it is on the shelves.
- Identify the London Library shelfmark (the numbers and letters) for your book and make note of it.
- Follow numbers and letters on our bookshelves until you find your book with the numbers and letters you noted.
- Use our touchscreen self-service circulation machine to borrow the book by selecting BORROW and following the instructions on the screen.
You do not need your staff/library card when returning books.
- Go to our touchscreen self-service circulation machine.
- Select RETURN and follow instructions on the screen.
- After you complete the process, please make sure you put the returned books in our locked drop-box.
Electronic books: you can read them online or download for a short a period of time. Every e-book has a different rule; please check the front page of the e-book which tells you what you can and cannot do.
Renewing and Requesting Books
If no one else is waiting to borrow the book you have, you can renew your books several times.
- Renewing from home (or from anywhere in the world): sign in to your library account in Library Search to extend the due dates of you book/s.
- Renewing on Campus: use our touchscreen self-service circulation machine by selecting RENEW and following instructions on the screen.
You can also request books from Sunderland provided there is no electronic version of the book.
- Find the book in Library Search and use the REQUEST option (you have to be signed in).
- Make sure London Library is the pickup location and confirm.
- You will receive an email once the item is ready for collection.
You can watch the video below to view the process of requesting books.
My Library Account
Manage your library account online by signing in to Library Search.
You can use your account to:
- view your loans and return dates
- renew your books
- request resources and manage your requests
- view and pay any library charges (if you damaged or lost any of our books)
- view your loan history
- view all notification emails you have received from the library system
Your library account may be suspended if you have outstanding charges. If this happens:
- renew your books or return any overdue books to the library
- for lost or damaged books, please pay any outstanding charges online by signing in to Library Search
- please contact us if you have any questions regarding the suspension
Please note that you will not be able to renew or borrow any further items until the suspension has been resolved.
You can watch the video below for more information on your Library Account.