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Access online and zero-contact services across our libraries. Limited in-person services are available at the UL and in some Faculty and Department libraries. Visit Using the Library for information on services and support to help you study, teach and research.

Cambridge University Library

 

remote access

Here is how we will help you to keep studying, teaching and researching

Cambridge University Libraries are providing a blend of online and zero-contact services, designed to give you the access you need to resources and support while keeping you and library staff safe. Please use online resources and remote services wherever possible to minimise physical visits to the libraries.  

We continue to increase the availability of online resources and services to complement controlled access to physical collections. Our vast library of electronic resources, including ebooks, ejournals, and databases are available from any location worldwide, with the exception of titles received through electronic legal deposit, for current students and staff of the University of Cambridge. 

You can also access expert help from libraries staff to help you find and use the resources that are important to your work. 

All you need to enter the libraries online are your computer or mobile device, your University Raven password and an internet connection. Simply log in with your Raven ID and password when prompted - this may be referred to as an Institutional Login. VPN access will also allow you to continue accessing our electronic resources; find instructions on setting up a VPN here.


Our remote services

Our LibGuides help you navigate the library online, showing you how to:
  • find recommended resources for your subject, discipline or topic 

  • discover who to ask for help if you get stuck 

  • develop study skills to work more effectively and efficiently.      

Our training courses are running online, and include remote library induction sessions to help you get the most out our services. These courses are available to all students, staff and other members of the University. They are free - explore the programme and book to secure your place.

Libraries staff are also on hand to answer your questions directly. Contact us via these helpdesks and we will get back to you as soon as we can. 

General enquiries library@lib.cam.ac.uk
Electronic Collections support (E-journals & e-resources) ejournals@lib.cam.ac.uk
E-books support  ebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk
Ravin login assistance raven@lib.cam.ac.uk
Information skills for undergraduates and taught Master's students  https://camguides.lib.cam.ac.uk/
Scholarly communication and research skills visit https://osc.cam.ac.uk/
Open Access queries visit https://www.openaccess.cam.ac.uk/, email info@openaccess.cam.ac.uk.
Research Data Management queries visit https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/, email info@data.cam.ac.uk.
Subject-specific queries

Our Faculty and Department Library teams are running virtual helpdesks, 1-2-1 video meetings and virtual chats to answer your subject and information enquiries.

 

Electronic Collections: journals and databases

Over 130,000 ejournal titles and 400 databases are available off-campus. Find your essential guide to Cambridge University Libraries' services and support for online resources on our E-resources pages

Discover the latest on ebooks & ejournals, including: 

  • Browzine - a new way to browse scholarly journals by title and subject area, and to create your own journal and article library. 
  • an iDiscover widget to help you search for articles or journals online 
  • highlights of new e-resources available for the academic year 2020/21.

Visit How to access e-resources to learn all you need to know about accessing and using eresources easily and safely, including:

  • a Raven LibGuide for help and support on using Raven to authenticate for access to e-resources from off campus. 
  • a new browser extension, LibKey Nomad, which automatically connects University members to online resources subscribed by Cambridge University Libraries. 
  • help on navigating authentication procedures on different platforms.
  • full information on terms and conditions for use of e-resources.

You can also find free open access research outputs on the institutional research repositories round the world. These should appear in a Google search, but you can also search Cambridge’s institutional repository, Apollo

A list of additional e-resources made freely available during the pandemic through the generosity of publishers can be accessed through this page.

New electronic resources for 2021

A new set of electronic resources is available for 2021 thanks to funding from the University of Cambridge to support continued teaching and learning throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. We have added the resources to our vast online library, so that you can keep studying, teaching and researching, wherever you are this term. The links below will take you to the Electronic Collections Management blog, where you can learn more about these resources and how to access them. 

Leading scholarly content to support all subject areas
Major additions to digital archives 
  • Archives Unbound - significant digital archives in a wide range of subjects
  • 8 key collections in the British Online Archives series
  • Historical Newspaper Archives, including:
    • parts 3, 4 and 5 of the British Library Newspapers (completing our collection)
    • The Telegraph and The Daily Mail digital archives 
    • access for 2021 to important historical newspaper archives
    • access to Digital Scholar Lab for text mining across all or a selection of the archives.
Resources to support specific disciplines

Links to these resources are available via the Cambridge University Libraries A-Z of e-resources, the newspaper pages and Newspapers LibGuide, and, where appropriate, you will find records at title and/or article level via iDiscover.


ebooks

The University has access to over 1.2 million ebooks off-campus from a wide variety of publishers and most are available through links in the iDiscover catalogue. More information can be found in the Cambridge ebooks LibGuide

We are acquiring more ebooks daily, particularly to support University students. If you need a book and it is not already available electronically to you, we can help by obtaining it as an ebook if it is available from the publisher: you can recommend an ebook for acquisition

A list of additional e-resources, including ebooks, made freely available during the pandemic through the generosity of publishers can be accessed through this page.


Electronic Legal Deposit

Electronic legal deposit books, journals and web content cannot be made available electronically beyond the physical premises of Cambridge University Libraries under the terms of current legal deposit legislation.  This can only be changed by government through new legislation. 

 

If you require access to material that is only held by the Library as an electronic legal deposit item, you can book a visit to view it on a Library PC or request a print-out of an article or chapter.  


Inter-Library Loans

Inter-library print loans cannot be supplied at the moment as many other libraries in the UK are unable to circulate new loan requests. Where possible, we will try to match your request to an ebook purchase.  You can recommend an ebook for acquisition. 

Electronic inter-library delivery is dependent on the British Library Document Supply Service, which is currently operating a very limited service prioritising NHS and Covid-19 related requests.  For more information see the British Library On Demand service web pages

The University Library can apply for articles/chapters from part of the BL collections, some overseas libraries and some American Ph.D. theses. Please check our available resources carefully before sending your request.

Contact the following with your inter-library loan request

University Library ILL@lib.cam.ac.uk
Medical Library - for all Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths requests illreq@medschl.cam.ac.uk

Please note that although this service is currently free, we reserve the right to impose a cap on the number of requests.  


Physical books

Books on loan from the main University Library, faculty and departmental libraries, and some college libraries will auto-renew. Please check the latest information in the Borrowing LibGuide. No one will face library fines for any late returns. 

Find guidance about how to return library books here

Readers also now have various options in terms of accessing the University Library's physical collections:


HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service

CUL has recently become a member of HathiTrust, a not-for-profit collaborative of academic and research libraries, which preserves over 17 million digitised items. Through our membership of HathiTrust, our libraries are able to subscribe to HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS), which enables users to access some of our collections remotely.

ETAS makes it possible for current members of the University of Cambridge with a Raven password to access digitised items in HathiTrust that correspond to physical books held by our libraries. This is a temporary service only available for the pandemic. Under the terms of the special emergency arrangement, access to books on the platform will be withdrawn when restrictions to accessing the print collections are removed.  

Any print book held in Cambridge University Libraries that is available as a digitised book on HathiTrust can now be read on their platform. Access to the digital items can be obtained in two ways:  

  • Log into iDiscover via Raven. If an item is available via the HathiTrust ETAS service, a link will appear in the ‘View it’ section of the iDiscover Record.  
  • Access is also available directly by logging into the HathiTrust platform with Raven. 

Find a practical guide to checking out a 'temporary item' in the HathiTrust ETAS collection on the Electronic Collections Management blog, where you will also find an overview of ETAS.


Readers with disabilities

If you are a library user with a disability and have an enquiry or request, please get in touch using the email address disability@lib.cam.ac.uk. If you need resources in an accessible format we will continue to support you remotely wherever possible from the available electronic resources. You can use the SensusAccess tool to create an alternative format document. Click here to use SensusAccess. We prioritise requests for services to support readers with disabilities.


We are doing all we can to provide access to our digital resources, and make more available where feasible. We are working in a way that ensures the safety of libraries staff, and ask for your patience and courtesy in communications.

 
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