Library Services Assistant Guide

Key Facts:

• Short term access for up to 7 consecutive days, once per 12 months. 
• Access to library study spaces and services during opening hours
• Reference services only, no book loans 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• On-site eResource use only

Short term access permits temporary access to the library, for 7 consecutive days per annum. Before starting, please check the Excel Membership Checklist to confirm they haven’t already reached their allotted allowance. If yes, please follow guidance in Short Term Access FAQs section below.  

All short-term access requests must be submitted with at least 3 working days’ notice, to allow time for us to process. If a request falls within this time frame, please follow guidance in Short Term Access FAQs section below.  All new short term access requests come in via LibAnswers

    Processing Short Term Access Applications

Key Facts:

• Membership free
• Band A, B and C users entitled to 4 standard loans ; Band R reference only. 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site
• Membership will last until their course expiry date , or 3 years, whichever comes first. 

SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries) is the scheme that connects the libraries of most higher education institutions in the UK and Ireland, including the Open University. The scheme promotes shared academic knowledge and collaboration between academic institutions and their services. Students at these universities can visit other university libraries that participate in the scheme for free. 

SCONUL membership is a two step process. Firstly, SCONUL acceptance is granted from the applicants home institution. Once they receive acceptance they must then apply to UOSuffolk for entry to our library.

Processing SCONUL memberships

Key Facts:

• Alumni are ex-students who have successfully graduated
• Membership is £15.00 per annum 
• Membership expires after one year, at which point they can renew for another £15.00
• Entitled to 4 standard loans , and are eligible for interlibrary loans via the library helpdesk. 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site

Students are only eligable for Alumni membership if they have succesfully completed their studies with UOS. Library staff can verify this by searching SITS with their student number. If an applicant cannot provide a valid student number, or has not successfully complete a course of study at UOS, they will be considered as external members of the public and asked to re-apply accordingly.

Processing Alumni memberships

Key Facts:

• For staff who have worked at UOS under five years, membership is £15.00
• For staff who have worked at UOS over five years, membership is free. 
• Membership expires after one year, at which point they can renew.
• Entitled to 4 standard loans 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site

Library staff can verify that the applicant was a previous staff member and their years of service by using the previous staff number provided on the application form to search SITS

 Former Staff ( Under 5 years of service)

Key Facts:

• Can only apply via direct email to Library and Learning services
• Membership is £20 per year
• Membership lasts up to one year, after which they can renew for £20. 
• Entitled to 8 standard loans 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site 

We only offer Partner Staff Membership for staff members from our partner colleges at Suffolk New College, East Coast College Lowestoft and East Coast College Great Yarmouth.We do not offer Partner Staff Membership to any of our other partnership institutions.

Key Facts:

• Alumni are ex-students who have successfully graduated
• Membership is £15.00 per annum 
• Membership expires after one year, at which point they can renew for another £15.00
• Entitled to 4 standard loans 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site

We welcome previous students to apply to have an account with us if they have successfully completed their course. We, therefore, do not accept previous students under the Alumni scheme who withdrew from their course or failed. These individuals may however be considered as external members of the public (see below).  

Library staff can verify the applicant by using the previous student number provided on the application form to search SITS for the student.  

Once approved, these users are entitled to a borrowing account and up to 4 standard loans.  

Please note for Public membership application, applicants must submit a statement on why they wish to access our resources. This statement must specify their request for our specific resources, not just the use of our study spaces. For more generic study space requests, please direct to a local public library.

    Processing Public Memberships

Key Facts:

• Alumni are ex-students who have successfully graduated
• Membership is £15.00 per annum 
• Membership expires after one year, at which point they can renew for another £15.00
• Entitled to 4 standard loans 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site

We welcome previous students to apply to have an account with us if they have successfully completed their course. We, therefore, do not accept previous students under the Alumni scheme who withdrew from their course or failed. These individuals may however be considered as external members of the public (see below).  

Library staff can verify the applicant by using the previous student number provided on the application form to search SITS for the student.  

Once approved, these users are entitled to a borrowing account and up to 4 standard loans.  

Key Facts:

• Alumni are ex-students who have successfully graduated
• Membership is £15.00 per annum 
• Membership expires after one year, at which point they can renew for another £15.00
• Entitled to 4 standard loans 
• Not permitted to make reservations
• Will not be able to access eResources off campus - they must use a walk-in password when on-site

We welcome previous students to apply to have an account with us if they have successfully completed their course. We, therefore, do not accept previous students under the Alumni scheme who withdrew from their course or failed. These individuals may however be considered as external members of the public (see below).  

Library staff can verify the applicant by using the previous student number provided on the application form to search SITS for the student.  

Once approved, these users are entitled to a borrowing account and up to 4 standard loans.  

I have partner students or corporate members enquiring bout membership? 

If you are enquired about alternative forms of membership, including corporate membership or partner student membership, please enquire with an LTL 

How do external members access the internet?

We recommend that external patrons use our library computers, as these are linked to bot our databases and our printers. Alternatively external members can connect to the SuffolkUni wifi. 

How do external members use the printers?

External library members cannot print from University of Suffolk or personal devices. To print, we ask that you email your document(s) directly to learningservices@uos.ac.uk with formatting instructions (e.g., colour, single-sided, A4).

Please note that the library printing facilities can only be used for academic printing, we cannot offer help with personal printing. 

As we are moving to a cashless system we are minimizing the amount of cash we can take at the desk. There is a new £5 limit on cash payments at the desk. Payment can be made in cash at the helpdesk (up to a value of £5)  or via the Online Shop. 

Further guidance can be found here : Printing Guidelines for External Library Members - About Library & Learning Services - Learning and Teaching at University of Suffolk

How do external members use the library computers?

External members must obtain a walk-in password from the library helpdesk upon accessing the library.