Using the library at a distance

• Support from Wolfson Library
• Support from Other Cambridge Libraries
• Finding Books, Articles and Databases 

 

Support from Wolfson Library

Borrowing

We encourage our part-time students to borrow books and take them away. If the machine isn't working when you visit us, please fill in a Manual Loan form and put it under the Librarian's door.

If a book you have on loan is requested by another student and you are asked to return it but cannot, please get in touch as soon as possible and we will aim resolve the situation.

Enquiries

Please send all questions and suggestions to library@wolfson.cam.ac.uk. Library staff are very happy to meet you in person if you are coming into College or we can set up a one-to-one meeting on Teams.

Request and Collect

With Request and Collect, you can select up to 5 books per day to be checked out to you account and made available in the Reading Room, which means they can be collected by anyone you nominate. You can search for Wolfson’s books via iDiscover

Scanning

For students who are on part-time courses or are working away from Cambridge, we can scan up to 5% of a book or a chapter, whichever is the greatest. You need to sign a form, which confirms that the reading is for personal use and it is not on your reading list (Faculty and Departmental Libraries can facilitate that). Please fill in this form if you would like to request a scan.

Academic Skills

The Wolfson College LibGuide provides tips, tools and how-to guides 24/7. There a section specifically for Working Remotely, videos showing you how to use reference management software Zotero and Mendeley, there are note-making templates, and a list of tools to help you beat digital distractions, which can be hard when working on your own.

WolfWorks is a programme of academic skills workshops. They are taking place online this year, so that everyone can attend, wherever they are based. They will take place on Saturday mornings in term-time. Please book places to attend and to receive the access link.

Wellbeing

Some of our wellbeing activities are online too such as Action for Happiness calendars, Charlie Mackesy colouring in, online jigsaws and Desk Yoga to make sure you look after yourself when studying.

 

Support from Other Cambridge Libraries

Click and Collect from the UL. The Cambridge University Library now has a click-and-collect service where you can request up to five books per day. Make sure you read carefully the instructions for how to request and collect your books.

Scan and Deliver from the UL. The Cambridge University Library now has a scan-and-deliver service where you can request up to five book chapters or parts of a book (within copyright guidelines per day). 

Please see Using the Library for more information and a specific list of which Faculty and Departmental libraries are open for which services.

 

Finding Books, Articles and Databases

Requesting E-Books

Cambridge University Libraries are trying to acquire books as e-books, where they exist. Please contact your faculty library or use this form from the University Library.

Searching for reources off campus

Always search for e-resources from iDiscover or the A-Z Database listing page to see what we have access to. Click on the link from here and you will be prompted for your Raven username and password. This should give you access to the resource. Alternatively, install Lean Library. This browser extension will automatically detect when you are on a website and you have access thanks to the subscriptions of Cambridge University Libraries. This is particularly useful if you are searching a non-university database such as Google Scholar. Lean Library will automatically deliver you an Open Access version of an article - if one is available - whenever Cambridge University Libraries do not provide subscription access. While we recommend Lean Library, other Open Access plugins are available.

Finding E-Books

The University of Cambridge has access to over 1.5 million ebooks from a wide variety of publishers and platforms. To make use of our extensive ebook collections, search for them on iDiscover using the 'Cambridge Libraries Collections' search and limit to 'ebooks' by clicking on the filter in the search box (or under it when on mobile) that says 'All libraries'. More information is available on the ebooks LibGuide.

Finding Articles and E-Journals

There is a dedicated search box for journals and articles or you can search iDiscover directly. Select the middle radio button: 'Articles and online resources'. From the results screen, use the limiting options to select 'Full-text Online' under the 'Availability' filter or to limit by 'article' or 'journal' under the 'Resource Type' filter.