Quickstart guide - Students
Welcome
Welcome to Loughborough University Library. This short guide gives you all the essentials you need to start accessing our resources and services.
Our libraries
On the Loughborough campus, the University Library is known as the Pilkington Library. There is only one library on campus, and it is the largest open access study space. The Library is open to all staff and students at the University and is also home to a café and IT Services PC Clinic. The Pilkington Library is open until 2am 7 days a week during term time and 24/7 for January and the whole of the summer term. There is also library space on the London campus with generous opening hours (usually 24/7 for most of the year).
Joining the library
You are automatically enrolled as a member of the Library when you start as a student at the university. Your student ID card is also your Library card, and you will need it to access the barriers at the Pilkington Library and in London and also to borrow books on our self service machines.
Finding resources for your studies - reading lists
Every module you study as a student should have a reading list attached to it. Your reading list contains links to a selection of books, articles and other resources chosen by your lecturer. You can find your reading list on Learn or by accessing the Library’s reading list system.
Finding resources for your studies - Library Catalogue plus
While reading lists and subject guides are a good place to start, you will be expected to read more widely in your subject to achieve the best results. The Library Catalogue Plus system is where you can find what print resources are available in the Library as well as giving access to a huge number of e-books and e-journals.
Requesting books
If a book you require is on loan to another user, you can place a hold request on the book. The person who has the book will then have one week to return the book to the Library. As soon as they have returned the book it will be placed on hold for you and you will receive an email from the Library asking you to collect your hold.
Your Library account
You can access your Library account in three ways:
- Via the Library tile on the MyLboro app
- Via the account section on Library Catalogue Plus
- Via the account section on the self-service machines
Study spaces in the Library
The Pilkington Library has four floors and has just under 1400 study spaces – whether you want to study quietly as an individual or in a group. We have a silent study area on the top floor of the Library and have bookable group study rooms, bookable booths and study carrels throughout the building. The Library also has 250 open access PCs and MFDs on all 4 floors. Level 2 has a suite of open access MACs.
The London campus offers a range of versatile workspaces to cater for independent study, group activities and collaborative project work.
The London campus holds over 120 laptops for students to use on campus, including Apple MacBook Pros and Dell Latitude laptops. High-powered CAD computers and a cutting-edge 3D printer.
Study skills
Starting at university can be daunting as you are expected to be much more self-driven in your leaning. The Library has contributed to a Study Skills support module on Learn - LUA001 – which covers essay or report writing, note taking, critical thinking etc. to help you develop these key skills.
Support from the Library
The Library prides itself on providing excellent levels of support, whether it is in person at one of our help desks, online assistance via a Teams chat with one of our Academic Librarians or if you wanted to email us with a question. It’s our job to help support you, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need us.
We have an Ask a Librarian email service:
Loughborough students - library@lboro.ac.uk
London students - london-library@lboro.ac.uk