Help yourself guides

The opening times for the current week are shown on the Library and Skills main page.

You can also look ahead to the next week or month of the academic year.

​Opening times can change during vacation and on bank holidays, so please check before you travel.

Please remember to bring your student card with you to access facilities.

The self-service machines available in our libraries allow you to borrow and return items yourself.  

They are easy to use and instructions are displayed on screen to show you what to do. 

More information about borrowing items, loan periods and using the self-service machines can be found on our Borrowing and membership page.

You can keep track of the items you have borrowed by signing in to your Library Account.

Select Library Card from the menu options. You can then view the details of the items that you have on loan, including the due dates. You will also be able to:

• Check the status of your requests
• Check the amount of any outstanding library charges, and pay them online using the University of Staffordshire payment portal.
• Read any system notes or messages from Library staff.
• See the personal details that we have for you and check they are correct.

Items that are issued to your account will renew automatically every 2 weeks unless:

• The item has been requested
• You have reached the maximum numbers of renewals (12 renewals/24 weeks) for that item
• Your Library Account has expired

If we need you to return an item we will send you a recall email - so please check your email account regularly.

You can also renew your books using the Self Issue machines in the  libraries if you need to; and keep track of the due dates by signing in to your Library Account.

If you have any problems with your library account, or any books that you have borrowed, please contact the Student Life team using Solve as soon as possible.

This can include:

• A book issued to your account that you think you have returned
• A book that has been damaged 
• A book that has been lost

Our Click and Collect service allows you to request a printed book from one of our libraries and collect it from one of the Click and Collect locations.

We will email you when your book is available, and you then have 7 working days to collect it.

You can use it for books that are currently on loan, or if it is difficult for you to get to the Library where the book is located yourself.

If you cannot easily access our on campus libraries we offer a Postal Loans service.  This covers distance learning students, students based at our London Campus and other students who are not able to travel to Stoke or Stafford.

We will post books (up to a maximum of 4 books at a time) via tracked delivery. If you return the books by post you will need to use tracked delivery as well and are responsible for the return costs.

Please package books securely and obtain proof of posting.  

The University keeps a copy of PhD and Professional Doctorate theses that were successfully submitted and passed.

A collection of older print theses (which are for reference use only) can be found in Library Creative. More recent PhDs are available in electronic format and can be accessed via STORE (University of Staffordshire Online Repository). You can search by author, or title, or select Browse, then Thesis from the list of options.

The details of all of the theses held in our collections can be found using Library Search (please note that we do not keep undergraduate or Masters dissertations).

The Library has subscriptions to Box of Broadcasts (BoB) and Kanopy that allow you to watch TV programmes, documentaries and films online for free if you are a student or member of staff.

With BoB you can record programmes from over 75 free-to-air channels and search an archive of over 2.2 million broadcasts.

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform that offers films (including foreign films, classic cinema and independent films), documentaries and educational videos.

We also have access to National Theatre 1, 2 and 3 that includes recordings of stage productions.

The British Library's On Demand supply service is not currently available. So, if we don't have the book you want in stock, we can't unfortunately get a copy of that book for you right now.

However, you can request a specific chapter by using our Request a digital copy service. You can also use this service to request journal articles that are not available from the Library.

All requests are subject to copyright limits.

If you still can't find what you need, your Academic Librarian can help you to find alternative resources.

Yes. However, access to e-books is time limited in a similar way to borrowing a physical book from the Library.

Some titles restrict the number of users at any one time, so you may sometimes find that e-books are not always available to download straight away. If this happens, you can add yourself to the waiting list by selecting the Add to Queue or Reserve option - you will then receive an email to let you know when a copy becomes available.

For more information check out our e-books guide.

Our Current Issues guide gives details of any known issues and some possible solutions. If you are still unable to access the resource after following our self-check guide, please contact the Student Life Team with the following information:

• The name of the resource you are trying to access.
• A screen shot of any error messages.
• Confirmation you have followed the self-check guide.
• Your username and the best email address to use to contact you.

Remember, the more information you send us, the quicker we can resolve the problem. 

University of Staffordshire is a member of the SCONUL Access Scheme which allows you to use the libraries of other UK Universities who take part in the scheme. 

Membership is free and provides visitor access and borrowing rights to staff, postgraduates, distance learners, part-time and placement students.

Full-time undergraduates can apply for reference access.

University of Staffordshire Alumni can apply to join the Library by completing the External Library Membership form and supplying a digital photo.

The fee for one year's membership is £15.00 and this should be paid in advance of collecting your card via the Online Shop. 

Membership includes access to the University Libraries, borrowing rights and limited access to online resources.

For detailed instructions on making your application, please see our Alumni Library Accounts page.