It’s been a busy Autumn term!
The final week of term begins on Monday! We thought this would be a good time to share the Library vacation information with you, to help you get the most out of your Library through the break.
Online help
All our expert staff are available online to help and advise you through the vacation before, and after, the University closure period. Through this time, the following services will be available
- For advice on resources for all your course needs, contact your Academic Liaison Librarian, they can assist by helping you to make the most of the Library resources.
- Study Advice can help you develop your study skills through the online tutorials and bookable sessions on offer.
- The Research Engagement team are available to help support your research needs. If you require help with Open Access, research data management and other research related matters, visit their webpages for further support.
Once we enter the University closure period, you will still be able to gain help and support through the range of training guides and videos that the teams have produced.
Store and Closed Access requests
If you need materials from the off-site Store or from our Closed Access shelves, please make sure you place your request in good time. The final dates of collection are as follows
- Store collections – Thursday 16 December. Requests for items should be submitted by 8:00, that morning so that they can be processed for retrieval.
- Closed Access collections – Wednesday 22 December. Please submit your request before 13:45 if you wish to consult a closed access item in advance of the closure period.
We will resume Closed Access collections on Tuesday 4 January and from Store on Thursday 6 January. For more information, see Requesting items from Store and Closed Access.
Vacation loans
To ensure you have good access to resources over the break, vacation loan periods will apply as follows
- Items from our Short Loan/overnight loan collection borrowed on Friday 17 December will not need to be returned until Tuesday 4 January 2022, but they must be returned by 11:00 to avoid any charges.
- 7-day loans borrowed from Monday 20 December will not need to be returned until the end of the closure period (Tuesday 4 January 2022).
- Standard loans (3-week loans) will naturally issue over the break from Friday 3 December. Term loans will update on 2 December so that any items issued then will not be due until Tuesday 22 March 2022.
Recalls will still apply until the University closure begins so, please remember to check your University email and return any recalls in good time.
Vacation opening hours
The Library will be open 24/6+ until Friday 10 December, when we will be closing at Midnight. This also signals the start of the weekend closure, and the start of vacation hours as follows
| From |
To |
Opening hours |
| Saturday 11 December |
Sunday 12 December |
CLOSED |
| Monday 13 December |
Thursday 16 December |
Open 8:30 – 19:00 |
| Friday 17 December |
|
Open 8:30 – 17:00 |
| Saturday 18 December |
Sunday 19 December |
CLOSED |
| Monday 20 December |
Wednesday 22 December |
Open 8:30 – 19:00 |
| Thursday 23 December |
|
Open 8:30 – 17:00 |
| Friday 24 December |
Monday 4 January |
CLOSED |
Much of the University will be closed between Friday 24 December and Tuesday 4 January. On Tuesday 4 January, the Library will reopen as follows
| Tuesday 4 January |
Thursday 6 January |
Open 8:30 – 19:00 |
| Friday 7 January |
|
Open 8:30 – 17:00 |
| Saturday 8 January |
|
Open 8:30 – 19:00 |
| Sunday 9 January |
|
Open 8:30 24/6+ resume. |
Further information on the Library opening hours, including the IT Service Desk can be found on the Opening hours webpage.
If you have a general enquiry, please contact us ahead of the University closure dates by emailing library@reading.ac.uk or phone 0118 378 8770.
Best wishes,
Your Library Team
Set to start your dissertation this summer? No? Get on track by joining this week’s live 
Last week all students attending live webinars and giving feedback said they would recommend the sessions to others. One said, “Everything has been helpful; despite writing two dissertations I have not had sessions like these before. Learning to focus my research (‘systematic searching’ and ‘finalising research questions’ were great) and [learning to] plan my study more carefully are the sorts of things I’ve been needing to improve.”