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Information for Visitors

Please note: visitor access to our library is between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. 

We welcome visitors to St Mary’s Library. This includes members of other academic institutions, organised visits from schools or colleges, and members of the public.

All individual visitors must first email library@stmarys.ac.uk or call 020 8240 4061 to arrange a visit as the building has access control. Please be sure to contact us before making a special trip to avoid disappointment.

St Mary’s University participates in the national  SCONUL Access scheme for university libraries, providing access to printed library resources and study facilities for students and staff of other universities.

If you fall into one of the following groups then you will be able to borrow a limited number of printed library items from us via SCONUL Access: 

  • Academic staff of most UK HE institutions on open or fixed term contracts.
  • Postgraduate research students registered for a PhD, MPhil or similar qualification.
  • Part-time, distance learning and placement students.
  • Full-time postgraduates.

If you have a library account with us and are experiencing problems with logging in please email library@stmarys.ac.uk for help.

If you are a full-time undergraduate student at another university then you can use the St Mary’s Library for study and reference purposes.

To visit us using SCONUL Access please ensure you have  applied for the scheme online and have printed a copy of the confirmation email message. Please bring your university ID card with you and report to library or Hub staff when you arrive. 

To prepare for your visit, you can make use of our Library Search tool - Primo to discover our library resources.

Undergraduate students and postgraduate students following taught courses at UK colleges of higher education or UK or Irish universities are entitled to reference use of our facilities during our vacations. For more information, please see the  SCONUL Vacation Access scheme.

Members of the public who are not in Higher Education are welcome to use St Mary's Library on a reference-only basis. Please be aware that you will need to bring your own IT equipment. Guest Wi-Fi internet access is available on campus.

Please note: overnight access to facilities is only available to those with a valid St Mary’s ID card. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult at all times whilst in the Library.

Teachers who would like to arrange a one-off visit for a small group of students are asked to contact us to discuss this further and to make an appointment. Please email library@stmarys.ac.uk or phone us on 020 8240 4097.

Photocopying can be arranged for visitors at a rate of 4p per black and white A4 page. Please ask a member of Library and Hub staff and we will assist you in using our copying system.

The library offers free membership to St Mary’s alumni. Alumni can borrow up to 4 library items at a time, but cannot use our online resources or facilities. Please contact alumni@stmarys.ac.uk to request membership.

If you have an Alumni library account with us and are experiencing problems with logging in please email library@stmarys.ac.uk for help.

Visitors from other UK universities can use the  Eduroam Wi-Fi service at St Mary’s. You can register for this with your home institution and use the service via your laptop to access your own institution's WiFi network and online resources. Further details can be found on the  Eduroam website.

If you don’t have access through Eduroam, guest access to our WiFi network is available.