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News and updates

News or updates on Library services and resources

You will find information about updates on the Library, our services and planned downtime for resources that we subscribe to.

Current

Library and User services during the Christmas break – 20 December to 1 January. Posted 04 December 2024

  • The Library will be open during the Christmas break – 20 December to 1 January – with some closed days and changes to opening times.
  • During this period, you will be able to contact the User Services helpdesk by email, ASK, and telephone throughout our opening hours.
  • Interlibrary loans (check for further information), Library Disability and Dyslexia Service study materials and appointments, and Academic Services Librarians will be unavailable during this time. If you need these services before January, please submit your request in good time before the Christmas break!
  • The Click-and-post service will be unavailable between 21 December and 1 January.
  • Our regular services will resume on Thursday 2 January 2025.
  • If you are planning to visit other libraries during the Christmas break, check their opening times and services available well in advance. Many libraries, if open at all, may not be processing new memberships during the break, so please ensure you join in good time beforehand.
  • Please note that Senate House Library will be closed 21 December – 1 January.

British Library's major technology outage. Posted - 02 November 2023.

  • The British Library is experiencing a major technology outage as a result of a cyber incident. 
  • This is affecting their website, their online systems and services including Interlibrary loans and Ethos (Electronic Theses Online Services). Birkbeck students and staff can still place interlibrary loan requests with us as usual.

Past

Library Bitesize Sessions: Finding books and ebooks using the catalogue. Posted – 30 October 2024.

  • Join us for a  20-minute session demonstrating how to use the library catalogue to search for books and ebooks.
    • When: 6 November 2024, 12:30 — 13:00.
    • Where: online.
  • Book your place

Area beyond the yellow arches closed 14 and 15 October. Posted – 14 October 2024.

  • Due to a flood on level one of the Library, all the services and facilities beyond the yellow arches will not be available until 16 October.
  • So the following are not accessible:
    • Accessibility Centre
    • Group Study pods
    • Printing/scanning multi-function devices
    • Study Support Rooms A & B
    • Toilets
  • We apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Birkbeck Library Discover search – available. Posted – 03 October 2024.

  • The new Birkbeck Library Discover search is now available and accessible, though it is in development.
    • Discover search (CloudSource) is in development and the layout is liable to change.
    • Please contact the User Services staff in the library if you have questions.
  • You can use Discover to undertake searches on the whole library collection and across all our digital resources.
  • The ebooks that are linked via EzProxy or have 'ezproxy.lib.bbk.ac.uk' in the link are not working, please refer to the ebooks library guide for help in accessing these titles, and do contact the , if you need help.
  • We are working to rectify this issue and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
  • If you want to check for access to a specific database please consult the Databases and online resources web page, for the most current listing of available and accessible resources.

Birkbeck Library Catalogue – available. Posted – 01 October 2024.

  • The new Birkbeck Library Catalogue is now available and accessible, though it is in development.
    • The catalogue is in development and the layout is liable to change.
    • The information on the catalogue may not always be correct. Please contact the User Services staff in the library if you have questions.
  • You can use the Catalogue/ Library Search to search for books (print and electronic), CDs, DVDs, and videos.
  • The ebooks that are linked via EzProxy or have 'ezproxy.lib.bbk.ac.uk' in the link are not working, please refer to the ebooks library guide for help in accessing these titles, and do contact the , if you need help.
  • We are working to rectify this issue and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Alternatives While the catalogue and Discover are not available. Posted - 28 September 2024.

  • Catalogue:  You can use the JISC Library Hub Discover consortium of library catalogues to check for printed books, including those held at Birkbeck, that you can come in and borrow. UPDATED 01/10/2024: See the above post about the catalogue.
  • Digital resources:  To access these, please go to the OpenAthens website, click 'Login' in the top-right of the screen, then 'Login to MyAthens' and search for Birkbeck College. You should then be able to log into OpenAthens using your Birkbeck email and password. The listing on the Database and online resources page indicates which resources are and are not currently available via OpenAthens. This page is being updated daily.
  • Accessing Senate House Library: all Birkbeck staff and students, can use Senate House Library for free, to borrow books and access their online resources. Join Senate House Library, you can either go in person with your Birkbeck card or register online.

Get to Know Your Library. Posted – 20 September 2024.

  • Join a tour of Birkbeck Library for an introduction to our services and facilities and find out how we support your studies. The tour will last c. 20 minutes.
  • When: 23 September 2024 – 27 September 2024 Time: 13:15 - 13:35 & 17:15 - 17:35
  • When: 30 September 2024 – 4 October 2024 Time: 13:15 - 13:35 & 17:15 - 17:35
  • Venue:  Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
  • Where:  Meet by the Library entrance on the ground floor of the main Birkbeck building on Torrington Square.
  • No booking is required, just turn up!

Access to Birkbeck Library and its resources – update 1. Posted – 04 September 2024.

Access to Birkbeck Library and its resources. posted - 27 August 2024.

  • This is an update on the Library services affected by the IT unplanned downtime.  
  • Most of our services which rely on IT platforms remain unavailable, including the Library catalogue and access to our ebooks, journals, databases, and other electronic resources like journal articles linked from Moodle. Work is under way to restore these services, but we are not yet able to provide a timeframe for when they will be available again. Library users can now borrow and return books. We have started approving SCONUL applications from our students and staff again, but we are currently not processing memberships for external users.
  • The library is open for staff and students to use the print collection and study spaces. A temporary solution to provide WiFi access has been implemented, allowing library users to connect to the internet within the library, with a password they can collect at the library desk. 
  • Our Interlibrary loan service is available for journal articles and book chapters - you may want to use Google Scholar to find references to relevant resources for your studies before using the Interlibrary loan service. You can use the JISC Library Hub Discover consortium of library catalogues to check printed books, including those held at Birkbeck.  
  • If you need to access past exam papers, you are welcome to and we will try to find the papers you need. 
  • We encourage Birkbeck students and staff to join Senate House Library - you can either go in person with your Birkbeck card, or register online. Birkbeck students and staff can access most Senate House Library databases from home. You can search the catalogue and journal articles in a similar way to how our catalogue and Discover search used to work. You can also see their A-Z database list and filter this by subject. 
  • We realise that Senate House Library will not provide all the resources that Birkbeck students need, but they subscribe to many of the same resources. There are other libraries you may be able to join, such as the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), to access more specialist databases. For example, on site access to Westlaw and Lexis is available there for taught postgraduate students. 
  • We have a new platform to search for open access articles, CloudSource Open Access. This works in a similar way to Discover, allowing you to search for specific articles, or by keyword. Our online guide to open access resources may also be useful to some of you. Our team of will be happy to help you try and find suitable resources for your course.   
  • Don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions.  

    Partial Library closure 22 July to 20 September 2024. Posted - 04 July 2024.

    • From Monday 22 July, work will take place to create a new Immersive Learning Centre for Birkbeck students and staff. The aim of the new centre will be to increase access to learning beyond the classroom by providing virtual learning experiences that would be too expensive or impossible to provide in the real world: virtual field visits, gallery and museum tours, immersive documentaries, simulations, games and more. An Immersive Learning PC Lab and Studio will be created in the Library and an Immersive Learning Classroom just outside the Library in Room 109.
    • The work is expected to last for eight weeks. Part of the Library’s first floor will be closed. There will be no access to:
      • Library toilets (on Level 1)
      • Room 107 (seminar room)
      • Audiovisual collection
      • Accessibility Centre
      • Study Support Rooms A and B
      • Group study pods 1 and 2.
    • There will still be access to printing, scanning and copying. Study Support Room C will be available as usual. Group study pod 3 and other furniture will be moved around to provide additional group study spaces in the open areas on Level 1.
    • We will provide alternative study spaces during the works:
      • There will be a temporary Accessibility Centre in MAL412 (Malet Street, 4th floor, near Lift A). Toilets, including accessible toilets, are located near this room.
      • There will be a bookable individual Study Support Room in MAL411.
    • We will monitor the use of the remaining Library study spaces throughout the period and provide more spaces elsewhere if needed.
    • From 8 July there will be preparatory work taking place on the first floor of the Library and some disruption to the spaces described above.
    • We apologise for any inconvenience or disruption this may cause you.

    VLEbooks unavailable 6 - 7 April. Posted - 03 April 2024.

    • VLeBooks will be unavailable due to planned maintenance, from Saturday 6th of April starting at 10pm and finishing 7th April at 4am. 
    • We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

    SCONUL Access Scheme site downtime 27 March. Posted - 27 March 2024.

    • The SCONUL Access scheme site will be moving to a separate site and before it is migrated there will be a period of downtime on Wednesday 27th March between 9pm and 12am This was originally scheduled for Tuesday and has now been moved to Wednesday.
    • During this time you will not be able to submit applications and staff will not be able to process outstanding submissions.
    • If you intend to make use of the SCONUL Access scheme please do so outside of this downtime period.

    Introduction to Systematic Reviews. Posted - 04 March 2024.

    • In this online session we will delve into the details involved in conducting systematic reviews. We will look at the basics of systematic reviews, the difference between systematic reviews and literature reviews, the purpose of systematic reviews, research questions, methods and approaches, inclusion and exclusion criteria, search techniques and tools to support you in the process.
    • The online session is being offered on two different dates, no need to book in advance, just join the session on the time and day given below:
      • OR

    Systematic Reviews Drop-ins. Posted - 04 March 2024.

    • Come along to the drop-in session to ask any questions you may have about systematic reviews. No need to book in advance, just drop in on the day.
    • In-person:
      • Wednesday 13th March 3pm in MAL G11 – PSW MR 21
      • Monday 18th March 3pm in MAL G11 – PSW MR 21
    • Online:

    Access issues with titles on Kortext platform - 25/03/24. Posted - 25 March 2024.

    • We have been made aware that currently, it is not possible to access any ebooks on the Kortext platform, all other platforms are fine. We are investigating this issue with Kortext and hope to resolve this as soon as possible.
    • We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
    • Update at 17:21 - The issue seems to have been resolved and ebooks on the Kortext platform are now accessible.

    Limited access to certain Kortext titles. Posted - 16 February 2024.

    • There is currently a limited experience when trying to access certain titles on the Kortext platform. They are investigating the issue and will try and resolve this as soon as possible.
    • Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.
    • The issue has now been resolved, if you are still experiencing this issue, please refresh your browser - updated 16/02/2024 at 17:00.

    Box of Broadcasts (BoB) maintenance - 14 February. Posted - 09 February 2024.

    • BoB is undergoing scheduled system maintenance between 1pm and 3pm on Wednesday 14 February. 
    • Please consider the service at risk during these times and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

    Kortext platform update 1 February. Posted - 31 January 2024.

    • Kortext titles will not be accessible on Thursday 1 February between 6pm-8pm while the Kortext platform is being updated.
    • We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.