National Libraries

· These are the depositories of the nation's published material and are most appropriate for specialised research such as post-doctoral rather than undergraduate use.
· London based students may be able to use the British Library at St Pancras.
· Yorkshire based students may be able to use the British Document Supply Centre at Boston Spa near Wetherby. This library's prime responsibility is to lend to other libraries so support is minimal. Special arrangements exist with local universities.
· Scotland, Wales and Ireland have their own national libraries.
· Oxford and Cambridge University Libraries are also national repositories.
· The catalogues of National and University Libraries are available on www.niss.ac.uk/lis

Academic Libraries

· There are about a hundred university libraries in the UK plus a number of college libraries. Undergraduates are expected to use their own university library for the bulk of their information gathering because of the advantages of access to licensed services on networks and CD-ROMs.
· Access is often permitted in vacations to students living nearby; it is worth checking by phone beforehand. Borrowing facilities are not usually available.

Professional Institutions

· There area number of professional engineering institutions including those that are part of the Engineering Council. Most have libraries including specialist material, eg. Historical papers.
· Student membership may be available at a reasonable cost.

Special Libraries

· This category includes Government Departments, Companies and Research Associations.

· The extent and range of materials held in these libraries is variable; their web-pages will give a good description of the materials covered.

Public Libraries

· The larger public libraries can give help; an initial phone call to the Information of Reference desk is a good idea

More Information, including hints before you start