Main Library Catalogue
Studying off site?
Help wherever you are
If you are working away from campus, we want to help you make the best use of all the resources and services available from your Library. We offer a personalised service and aim to respond promptly to your enquiries.
We can:
- provide professional support and guidance through our Information Specialists and Library Service Desk staff
- post our books and reports that are important for your studies to you (in the UK)
- photocopy articles from journals that we hold, if they are unavailable electronically
- offer you longer loan periods so that you have time to use the materials properly
- make as many of our online resources available off campus as possible (subject to security/licence restrictions)
- register you for SCONUL Access, which will enable you to use other UK university libraries close to your home or work
- remind you where things are physically kept in the Library - take the Barrington Library Virtual Tour
The basic essentials
If you are new to our Library or would like a reminder of the basics of using our Library then please visit:
BIBLIO - the Basic Induction to Barrington Library Online
Using online resources off site
What we have
When you are working off campus it is easy to forget how to use the range of resources that are available to you. Our course and subject pages remind you of the resources useful to you, which include e-books and e-journals, indexes, sources of images, and recommended websites.
How to access them
To access our electronic resources offsite you should login in to the Digital Library using the login box in the top-right hand corner of the homepage (which only appears when you are off-site). Use your Cranfield Credentials account to login.
Watch our short film to see how you can log in - ShowMe: Off-site access to library resources. Duration: 1.37 minutes
If you are using a resource that requires to know who you are e.g. RefWorks then you will need to log in using your Shibboleth account.
Having problems with your Cranfield Credentials / Shibboleth account?
If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it yourself: Reset password now
If you do not know what your Cranfield credentials are, you will need to contact Cranfield IT
Learn about finding information at your own pace
The Information Literacy online tutorial is designed to help you learn about such topics as plagiarism and copyright; it supplys hints and tips on search strategies and tactics, tells you how to keep up to date in your chosen subject area, and teaches you the most efficient strategies on how to organise and communicate findings. The tutorial also gives you the opportunity to test what you have learned via a range of short interactive activities.
Postal Service
We post our books to customers within the UK or to a BFPO address. To request a book, place a hold on the item you need using the Library catalogue. When you receive an email from us alerting you that the item is ready for collection, respond with your current postal address and we will send the item to you.
For reference
On our “Reference Shelf” you will find resources to help answer questions that are not directly related to your studies but may support them. The page will provide access to reference material such as dictionaries, statistics, conversion tools, and much more.
Lunchtime training sessions
When you are not on site you can still sign up in advance to attend our lunchtime training sessions – these are 50-minute sessions held in the Library either showcasing particular databases or services, teaching you more about effective searching, or providing advice on copyright and plagiarism. You can book online for courses using the session booking form – pick the day which most suits you.
If you cannot make a session you can still learn about the topic by looking at the session material:
Current lunchtime training programme and session materials
Making enquiries
Working and studying off-campus outside of a traditional class or office environment can often make you feel isolated, but you are not alone. If you have a question please check our Help page first, which provides many FAQs.
To ask a question or leave a comment, use the "Ask a Librarian" service:
Support from other libraries
Using the SCONUL Access Scheme
You may live or work near to another UK university. Providing that they are a member of the SCONUL Access Scheme, we can arrange for you to use some of their facilities for reference purposes. You may find it useful to use them for some quiet study space for example, or their book collection might be relevant to your area of study.
See the Sconul Access Guide for details on how to join, a downloadable application form, and information on the participating universities.
Borrowing material from other libraries (requesting Inter-Library Loans)
We aim to provide adequate resources to support your research. However if you require something that is not part of the Library collection we can request it from another Library through our Inter-Library Loan service.
Restrictions:
Material borrowed from other libraries are subject to the regulations of that institution. This may affect the length of time you can keep the item, or where you may use it (occasionally certain items must only be used in the Library). Please respect any limitations there may be on an Inter-Library Loan item.
