Each College is allocated a share of the annual Library budget, subdivided to pay for books and journals in the relevant academic units.  For more information, contact your College Librarian and see our Collections Policy.

Ordering books & e-books

Anyone can suggest that the Library purchases a book but financial constraints mean that it cannot be purchased automatically if it falls outwith teaching and research needs of the University. 

• Requests can be made by filling in the electronic form. Please supply as much detail as you have. The suggestion will be forwarded to relevant College Librarian
• Marked up publishers' catalogues or leaflets will also be accepted. Please send to your College Librarian
• To reserve a book when ordering, select the reservation option at the foot of the book suggestion form

Ordering journals and electronic resources

Books are a one-off purchase, but print and electronic journals, and subscriptions to databases, represent a commitment to an ongoing cost. As a result we are rarely able to take out new journal subscriptions without cancelling existing titles of similar value.

Journal orders can be placed at any time of the year, although the decision is likely to be made in August or September.

Your College Librarian will be happy to talk to you about new journal requests at any time. 

We can arrange trials of new electronic resources however we cannot guarantee funding will be available for purchase.  Please speak to your College Librarian if you have any questions.  

There are a number of Research Rooms, in the Library, which are available to both University of Glasgow, and visiting academics. They provide a base inside the Library building for you to carry out your work.   

Each room has a number of desks, which you can book for periods of time ranging from one day to three months.  At each desk is a lockable set of drawers and a table lamp.

You're welcome to store Library books in the rooms, but please ensure that you have borrowed these books and they appear on your Library account.  Books found in Research Rooms which are not will be removed by Library staff and returned to the shelves.

If you have any questions about the Research Rooms, or would like to make a booking enquiry, then please contact Library Services staff at the Welcome Desk, on Level 2.  You can do this in person during staffed service hours, or by emailing us at library@lib.gla.ac.uk

We offer one-to-one sessions to support doctoral students and academics. Each session is tailored to the individual's research interests. Areas we can help with include:

• useful online resources for your subject
• effective searching for relevant results
• keeping up to date with research in your area
• finding useful archival and external collections

We also offer training sessions for groups of students. At postgraduate level these are often organised via the College Graduate Schools. 

Content can vary around the following:

• finding quality information using the print and electronic resources
• searching for journals
• building effective searching strategies
• using online tutorials to improve information skills
• referencing and citation skills (bibliographic software)
• effective internet searching, including evaluation of web resources
• using other libraries and archives

Just contact one of the College Librarians in your College Support Team to discuss.

This scheme enables academic staff, postgraduate students and undergraduate students that are part time, distance learners or on a placement scheme to obtain borrowing facilities at other university libraries. Full time undergraduates may use these libraries for reference only - remember to take your student ID card with you on each visit.

Full details of the scheme are available on the SCONUL Access website

To enrol, apply online and then wait until you receive an acceptance email from us. Once you have this email, take a copy of it, and your current University of Glasgow student ID/staff ID card, to the member library you wish to visit.

Visiting other member libraries

Borrowing entitlements may vary between libraries, and IT facilities and access to databases and e journals are not normally available. You must abide by the regulations of any library you choose to join.

If the item you want isn't held here we can request it for you from another library. On this page we provide advice on how to request a Journal Article, Book, Thesis or some other type of information.

Journal Articles

The quickest way to obtain journal articles is to request through ArticleReach.  ArticleReach is a free service which allows University of Glasgow staff and students to request a journal article(s) we do not have. You can also find links to ArticleReach from the Find More button which appears in some of the Library’s databases.

If the article you want is not held at the University of Glasgow Library, just click on the ArticleReach link and your request will be sent off to a number of libraries who hold the journal. You will receive an email to let you know when the article is available for you to view or print. Articles are available to view on your desktop for 30 days. Requests can also be tracked via your Library Account.

Comments or queries about ArticleReach should be directed to dds@lib.gla.ac.uk

If the article you need is not available on ArticleReach it still may be possible that we can obtain a copy for you. Log in to your Library Account and click on the "Request an Article" link under "Request Something we Don't Have".

Books

Log in to your Library Account and click on the "Request a Book" link under "Request Something we Don't Have". There is no charge to you for the initial request, however, if you wish to renew the loan (if possible) then there will be a charge.

UK Theses

Many UK theses are now available via EThOS (you need to register to use this service). If the UK thesis you want is not freely available through EThOS or you need an international thesis, then Log in to your Library Account and click on the "Request a Thesis" link under "Request Something we Don't Have".

Anything Else?

For example, Conference Proceedings or Reports - Log in to your Library Account and click on the "Request Conference Proceedings" etc. link under "Request Something we Don't Have".