How many books can I borrow? Undergraduate students = 15 library items
Final year students = 25 library items
Postgraduate students = 25 library items
Academic, research and support staff = 25 library items
You need your campus card to borrow books. Use the self service machines in the Library to issue your books to your account. The video below provides guidance.
How do I renew books?
Your books will automatically renew for you. So you don't need to renew them yourself unless:
So keep an eye on your Solent email account!
Select the image below to watch a short video on how to return books using the self-service system.
Select the image below to watch a short video on how to access your library account using the self-service system.
Search the Library Catalogue to find books and more for your studies.
The Library Catalogue will link you to thousands of ebooks (online books) that you can access away from campus at any time. There are also thousands more print books available in the library.
You can also sign into your Library account via the Catalogue to keep an eye on books you have borrowed, reservations you have placed plus access lists of favourite titles you want to follow up.
Watch the videos below to find out how to access ebooks and sign into your library account.
The Library Catalogue is a great starting point for finding quality information.
To find a specific item: search by author surname and one or two keywords from the title:
To find all material on a topic: search using a few, relevant topic keywords:
Results
Browse results list and click on relevant titles (note that different editions or titles we have in print and ebook format are grouped together under one top level link):
Find print books on the shelves by noting the floor location (e.g. 2C or 1A) and the shelf number (e.g. 771.6 BRI - always note the first three letters of the author surname). Click through to view the number of copies available and sign in to view full details:
Access ebooks
Access ebooks by limiting the results to 'Online resources'. Click on the ebook title you want to access to link through to it. If you need to login (on or off campus) you will need your university email address and password.
All copies of a book out on loan?
Sign in to the Catalogue and then click on the link to 'Request' a copy. We will email you when the book is then back in the Library and put it aside for you to pick up.
Solent library has an extensive collection of eBooks (over 30,000 and growing) to support students who are working from home or who just prefer this format. This following video will show you how to find and use them.
You do not need to sign into the library's catalogue to find books, ebooks or journal articles, but you do if want to use some additional features.