All members of RLUK have now agreed to open up access to their physical and online collections (where permissible) for staff and researchers from the whole RLUK community. This agreement builds on the existing SCONUL Access Scheme by including the legal deposit libraries, and by adding universal walk-in access to the electronic resources.
For details of opening hours and to check whether advance registration is needed, please check the relevant library website. The terms of the agreement are:
RLUK Access Agreement
1. RLUK members provide free access to their libraries and print collections to academic staff and researchers from RLUK member institutions. Lending is also offered – under the SCONUL Access Scheme – except by the legal deposit libraries (national libraries, and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin). Libraries reserve the right to restrict access to external visitors during busy periods.
2. RLUK members provide free access to those electronic resources which are licensed for ‘walk-in’ use on their library premises to academic staff and researchers from RLUK member institutions.
About RLUK
RLUK is a consortium of 34 of the major research libraries in the UK and Ireland, whose purpose is to shape the research library agenda and contribute to the wider knowledge economy through innovative projects and services that add value and impact to the process of research and researcher-training RLUK’s mission is to work with its members and partners, nationally and internationally, to shape and to realise the vision of the modern research library.
Founded in 1983, RLUK has directly and indirectly sponsored some of the major, free, online UK resources in support of research, such as the Archives Hub and Copac.
Top image courtesy of Tim Pestridge, University of Exeter Library