Preparing for your visit to the University of Bristol Library
How to check that the book you need is available.
Before visiting, you will need to confirm the book you wish to consult is available.
You will also need to confirm the location of the book. Our printed collections are housed across our library locations, but not every library is open to visitors.
If the book is held in a library not open to the public, you can request it to be brought to the Arts & Social Sciences Library where you can consult it.
For visitors using a Day Reader pass, to ensure you can use the books you require:
Use library search to check the availability of a book
Use Library search to:
- Confirm the title is currently available
- Check which library location holds the book you wish to consult
If the title is held at the Arts & Social Sciences Library, you can get the item from the shelves during your visit.
If the title is held at another library location, you will need to request the book to be transported to the Education Library through our Visitor Book Retrieval Service below. Please allow 5 working days.
Request a book to be brought to the Arts & Social Sciences Library
If the item is an online resource, we will be unable to provide access unless it falls under our freely available research resources.
For visitors with a SCONUL Access borrowing card, to ensure you can use the books you require:
Use library search to check the availability of a book
Use Library search to:
- Confirm the title is currently available
- Check which library location holds the book you wish to consult
If the title is held at the Arts & Social Sciences Library, you can get the item from the shelves during your visit.
If the title is held at another library location, you will need to request the book to be transported to the Arts & Social Sciences Library or Wills Library through our Visitor Book Retrieval Service below. Please allow 5 working days.
Request a book to be brought to the Arts & Social Sciences Library
If the item is an online resource, we will be unable to provide you access unless it falls under our freely available research resources.
For visitors using SCONUL Access Band R (full-time, on-campus undergraduate), to ensure you can use the books you require:
Use library search to check the availability of a book
Use Library search to:
- Confirm the title is currently available
- Check which library location holds the book you wish to consult
If the title is held at the Arts & Social Sciences Library, you can get the item from the shelves during your visit.
If the title is held at another library location, you will need to request the book to be transported to the Education Library through our Visitor Book Retrieval Service below. Please allow 5 working days.
Request a book to be brought to the Arts & Social Sciences Library
If the item is an online resource, we will be unable to provide you access unless it falls under our freely available research resources.
For visitors who have University of Bristol Library alumni cards, to ensure you can use the books you require:
Use library search to check the availability of a book
Use Library search to:
- Confirm the title is currently available
- Check which library location holds the book you wish to consult
If the title is held at the Arts & Social Sciences Library or Wills Memorial Library, you can get the item from the shelves during your visit.
If the title is held at another library location, you will need to request the book to be transported to the Education Library through our Visitor Book Retrieval Service below. Please allow 5 working days.
Request a book to be brought to the Arts & Social Sciences Library
If the item is an online resource, we will be unable to provide you access unless it falls under our freely available research resources.
If you are a member of Honorary Staff, please contact lib-access@bristol.ac.uk to obtain full information of your access to our library services.
Use library search to check the availability of a book
Use Library search to:
- Confirm the title is currently available
- Check which library location holds the book you wish to consult
If the title is held at the Arts & Social Sciences Library or Wills Memorial Library, you can get the item from the shelves during your visit.
If the title is held at another library location, you will need to request the book to be transported to the Education Library through our Visitor Book Retrieval Service below. Please allow 5 working days.
Request a book to be brought to Arts & Social Sciences Library
If the item is an online resource, we will be unable to provide you access unless it falls under our freely available research resources.