Using other libraries

If you want to find out what is available in another library before you visit you can usually check their catalogue online.

There are also a number of databases that enable you to cross-search numerous library catalogues to identify the location and availability of the material that you need.

Copac (Consortium of Online Public Access Catalogues). The Copac library catalogue gives free access to the merged online catalogues of many major university, specialist and national libraries in the UK and Ireland, including the British Library. The catalogue also gives details about access.

InforM25 is a consortium of academic libraries within the M25 area. The InforM25 website allows searching by subject and indicates which libraries might hold items of interest. There is also a facility for cross-searching library catalogues from different libraries and to search the Union List of Serials (ULS), a union catalogue of periodical holdings from the University of London constituent libraries and the University of Westminster.

SUNCAT is a free service containing information about the serials held in over 75 UK research libraries, including the British Library and the national libraries of Scotland and Wales.

The SCONUL Access website provides individual links to member library catalogues (for more information see Visiting other UK academic libraries below.)

UK active map of universities and HE institutions. This site (maintained by the University of Wolverhampton) provides a guide to the location of other institutions, in addition to direct access to their library catalogues and information about services.

InforM25’s Find a Library service will show you the location of M25 Consortium and associated libraries, including those holding material on your selected subject area.

There are several formal schemes enabling you to visit other academic libraries. You will need to become a member of a scheme to visit most libraries – membership needs to be arranged before you visit.

The principal national schemes are SCONUL Access and SCONUL Vacation Access. There are special arrangements to join some of the M25 institutions (London and surrounding area). There is also a local scheme called INVICTA Access. See below for more information and to determine your eligibility to join.

If the library you would like to visit is not a member of one of these schemes, check their website to find out if they permit access to visitors and for admissions information.

SCONUL Access

SCONUL Access is a reciprocal access scheme that provides free borrowing privileges or reference access to over 170 higher education institution libraries.

The following provides an overview of the scheme, however full details are available at the SCONUL Access website.

Who is eligible to join?

The table below will help you to find out whether you are eligible to join and determine your entitlement. Note the Band category you fit into as you will need this to determine which libraries you are able to visit. You can only use member libraries that support your band of user.

Band A	Staff and postgraduate research students.
Band B	Part-time, distance learning and placement students. Full-time undergraduate students – reference access only.
Band C	Full-time taught postgraduates.

Greenwich students and staff at Greenwich partner institutions should check the Greenwich website to establish eligibility.

How do I join?

• Check the SCONUL Access website to find out which libraries you can use under the scheme. Note that reference access for full-time undergraduates is offered by member libraries that support band B.
• Download a SCONUL Access application form or ask for a form at the Drill Hall Library (the Drill Hall) welcome desk.
• Please note that to be eligible to join the scheme you must be in 'good standing' with both the Drill Hall and your home institution library. You will need to pay any outstanding library fines and charges and must not have infringed the library rules.
• Take your form to the Drill Hall welcome desk for authorisation.

If eligible for the scheme, you will receive a SCONUL Access card, which will state your user band.

Visiting a member library

• Telephone or check the website of the library you want to visit for their opening hours and other local conditions (eg new tickets may only be issued during office hours or you may need to supply a passport-sized photograph) before you travel. You can also view the library’s catalogues at this address. If you will need specialist help during your visit, please contact the library in advance.
• Take your SCONUL Access card and your home institution (Greenwich, Kent or Canterbury Christ Church) ID/library card with you. You will be issued with a library card from the host institution, which will have the same expiry date as your SCONUL Access card.

Note that you will be subject to the regulations of the library you are using and will be responsible for any fines or replacement costs incurred. Individual library’s requirements and borrowing rights will vary and generally exclude IT access.

SCONUL Vacation Access

This scheme provides free reference access for undergraduates and taught postgraduates at other higher education libraries during the host library’s vacation period.

Information can be found on the SCONUL Vacation Access website.

InforM25: M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries

The University of Greenwich, University of Kent, and Canterbury Christ Church University are all members of the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries. For a list of participating libraries and information on how to visit or join M25 Consortium libraries, please refer to the InforM25 website.

The Find a Library tool gives details of access arrangements to member institutions. Most institutions require visitors to have SCONUL Access membership.

The InforM25 website’s search catalogue facility enables you to cross-search different library catalogues to locate the material you need.

Invicta Access

The INVICTA Access scheme is a local collaborative borrowing scheme between the partner institutions of the Universities at Medway, ie University of Greenwich, University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University.

Who is eligible to join?

University of Greenwich students and staff who:

• are registered at the Medway campus; and
• live in the Canterbury area.

How do I join?

Application forms are available from the Drill Hall Library welcome desk or online. Once completed, take the form to the welcome desk for authorisation. If you have outstanding library fines on your account your application will be refused. Once authorised, take the application form and your University of Greenwich student ID card to the library that you have chosen to join. Once there, you will need to complete their registration process before being allowed to borrow items. Please note that if you wish to join the Templeman Library and Canterbury Christ Church University libraries you will need to complete an application form for each.

Why is this called a collaborative scheme when it is appears to be only open to Greenwich students?

The scheme also offers access to the Drill Hall for University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University students and staff who are registered at the Canterbury campuses and live in the Medway area. Applications should be made through their home institution library.

A national library is a library specifically established by a country’s government to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country, including numerous rare, valuable or significant works. You will not normally be able to borrow books from a national library but you may be able to visit by appointment to view part of the library’s collections in one of their reading rooms. Please ensure that you read the admission criteria and registration requirements before visiting. Many of the books that the British Library holds can be borrowed through the inter-library loan service making a visit unnecessary. Your subject librarian will be able to advise you.

The British Library

The British Library catalogue lists over 13 million items in its collections. More information about the library and its resources can be found on the British Library’s website. Most inter-library loans are obtained from the British Library, normally making a visit unnecessary as you can borrow the item you need.

If you do decide to visit the British Library you will need to apply for a reader’s pass. Students can apply for a pass to use the British Library reading rooms if they cannot find the information resources they need either at their own university library or at any others to which they have access. Please check with your subject librarian first to confirm that the resources you need are not available elsewhere.

Information about how to apply, including the documentation you will be required to provide, can be found on the British Library’s website.

Other major UK national libraries

• The National Archives
• National Art Library
• NHS Evidence, formerly National Library for Health
• National Library of Scotland
• The National Library of Wales

Public libraries are another resource that you might like to use. This A-Z list gives details, including their online catalogues.

The People's Network provides information about the public library service and includes a search facility to find your nearest public library.

Medway public library service

The Drill Hall Library works closely with Medway’s public library service under a special agreement aimed at extending the range of cultural and educational opportunities for all those who live, work or study in the Medway Council area.

Where are the public libraries?

Details of the 16 public libraries and mobile library service within the Medway towns, their opening times and facilities can be viewed online.

How do I join?

Membership is open to anybody who lives, works or studies, even temporarily, in Medway or Kent. Membership is free and you can join at any of the libraries or at the Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre. You will need to take some identification with you such as a utility bill or passport. View further information on Medway Council’s getting started at the library website.

What can the library service offer?

The library service has an online catalogue that is accessible to everybody so you can easily check which library has the book or journal that you are looking for. You can also make online reservations and renewals through a personal account once you have become a member.

The libraries offer many services, including the following.

• Medway Business Information Service. This free service is based at Chatham library and is aimed at people at all stages of business development, from start-up to expansion. The service can provide materials such as company directories, statistics, market research reports and legislation, such as acts of parliament and statutory instruments. The library service subscribes to the following databases: ICC Plum, Cobweb and British Standards online. For more information view Medway Council’s business information service. Some information leaflets are also available in the Drill Hall’s main entrance.
• Information – facts and figures, hobbies, travel and biographies.
• Newspapers and magazines – general interest and professional.
• PCs – free computer use with internet access, office software, including database applications and publishing, scanners, CD burning and online books, encyclopaedias and newspapers.

For your leisure time, the libraries also offer a range of fiction, including bestsellers, non-fiction and, for a small rental charge, CDs, DVDs, videos and computer games.

If English is not your first language, there are books, DVDs and newspapers available in many languages.

Contact the library service

Chatham Library
Gun Wharf
Dock Road
Chatham
Kent ME4 4TX
Email: chatham.library@medway.gov.uk
Telephone: 01634 337799
Fax: 01634 337800

Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre (MALSC)

This centre houses material on the history, geography and people of the Medway area and includes special collections on Charles Dickens, Chatham Dockyard and Medway’s naval history. Further information is available on their website, including opening hours, directions and contact details. Please note that bookings are required for some equipment and for access to original archive material.

There are a number of online catalogues enabling you to search worldwide.

• The European Library searches the content of European national libraries.
• LibDex is a worldwide index of library catalogues, libraries and books.
• Lib-Web-Cats is a directory of libraries worldwide. While the majority of the current listings are in North America, the number of libraries represented in other parts of the globe is growing.
• WorldCat is the world’s largest network of library content and services, currently indexing the resources of around 10,000 libraries.
• The Library of Congress online catalogue contains records for all books published in the US. Most books published in European languages since 1970 are included.