Skip to Main Content

Getting Back into Study: Refresher Guide for Students (HWLS): Starting Out - Using the Library and your Resources

Using the Library and Resources

  Collegiate Library!

You will definitely have to use the Library for your studies and we actively welcome and encourage you to do so. As well as a huge amount of resources online, we also have a dedicated Library collection for your studies. For most HWLS courses, this is the Library based on Collegiate Campus, but you can also use the Library at the City Campus (Adsetts Library).

The majority of the print books you will need to use are at Collegiate Library and the collection can be found on the first floor. However, we also provide a lot of content available online and we also provide access to your Reading Lists Online. The resources on these are linked to the Library collection.

Below you will find information on how to:

  • Borrow and return items
  • Use ebooks
  • Find a learning space
  • Find and use your Reading List (RLO)

Borrowing from the library

All you need to know about borrowing and returning books and other items from the Library can be found in this link:

https://libguides.shu.ac.uk/pages/usingthelibrary

We also have a handy FAQ page which can be found in the next tab along.

24 hour Learning Spaces

Find Where to Work

There are two libraries, Adsetts library on City campus and Collegiate library on Collegiate campus. The libraries are open 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to provide you with flexible learning spaces to support your independent study. 

Your library provides access to over 2450 learning spaces in a range of study areas. There are Collaborative, Quiet, and Silent study areas and there is a mixture of bookable and non-bookable learning spaces to choose from.

Please bring your SHUcard with you when you visit the Library.

Ebooks

When you are off campus, you may find you need to use eBooks (full-text electronic books) more often to support your learning and teaching. This page is designed to help you make the most of using eBooks and to answer any questions you might have. 

Students and staff have access to the library's collection of eBooks. Log in to library gateway with your SHU username and password to find and access eBooks through Library Search.

All the eBooks we offer can be read on any computer or device connected to the internet. 

If you can't find the information you are looking for on this page, please contact us. We're always happy to help. 

Staff and students have access to the library's collection of eBooks (full-text electronic books). You can find and access eBooks through Library Search.

All the eBooks we offer can be read on any computer connected to the internet.

You are often able to print or copy pages from an eBook, but the number of pages you will be able to print or copy will be limited by the publisher using DRM (Digital Rights Management). Once these limits are reached, the publisher will not allow you to print or copy any further text.

The DRM that publishers apply also means that, in general, our eBooks cannot be transferred to eBook readers such as the Kindle.

We buy our eBooks from many suppliers that each have their own delivery system. For more information on these systems please see the FAQs on

If you have any problems using an ebook, please get in touch with the Library via Hallam Help. 

Issues which sometimes occur are: 

  • Some ebook platforms may have limits on the number of people who can concurrently read an ebook at any one time. This is often just a question of waiting for another reader to finish with the book, freeing up the access slot. However, it is still often helpful to contact the Library if this issue occurs, as we may be able to get extra copies on an ebook if this is happening too often. 
  • Some ebook platforms may work on a credit model, with a set number of times the book can be accessed each year. If an ebook exceeds that set number of accesses, it is no longer possible to access that book until the start of the next year period. In these cases, the Library would look at the possibility of buying additional copies. 
  • Authors and publishers can sometimes request for an ebook to be withdrawn, in which case the book will no longer be available. This can sometimes mean it is not possible to order a new extra copy of an ebook in cases of problems with user limits or credit limits.  
  • Like any web service, ebook platforms do occasionally suffer downtime, planned or otherwise. You can check to see if there are any known issues with ebook platforms from the Library Services Status box at the bottom right of the Library Online homepage. 
  • Over time some ebook links may change. If you find a link that doesn’t work, please report it and we will try to fix it or find an alternative.

How to use reading lists

Blackboard module sites

The  Reading List Online (RLO) for your module can be found on the module home page of  your Blackboard site.

If there isn't an RLO in your Bb module you could search for it by module name or code on the RLO homepage.

You can search by module code or module title.. As you type in your keywords or module code, you will see the drop down menu appear underneath. Select the most up to date list from the options. If you don't see your module, click on the magnifying glass to the right of the search box to search the system. Select the LIST not the MODULE.

Results of RLO search

Can't find your module list? Talk to your lecturer or use the Feedback link in RLO to let us know about this.

To access a resource on a list, click on the item title. This opens up the full details, with a link to locate the item e.g. the library record for book, or a website for a journal.

Example of full details display of a book 

Example of an electronic journal article

What's Next?

The next tab will introduce you to our online resource discovery tool, 'Library Search'. This is a powerful tool where you can start looking for resources and literature on your topic. Library Search is really easy to use and a great introductory resource to searching in your subject or area of interest.