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History

Getting Started

Not sure where to start?

Have a look at our How To... page for our three part tutorial on getting started with your research. The Starting Your Research tutorial is tailored to your School/Department. 

You will also find guidance on searching Library databases, provided by some of our database providers.

Cite Them Right - Chicago Style Online Referencing Guidance

For the period from the 17th century to the 21st, the Library has numerous resources.  The most wide ranging of these is Gale Primary Sources, but other more specific archives such as the New York Times and UK Parliamentary Papers are also available.

The following databases are included in the Gale Primary Source platform.

Other Primary Resources

Hundreds of historical journals are available in the following digitized collections.

Highlighted Resources:

ARTSTOR

Foyle Special Collections & Archives

The University's Foyle Special Collections & Archives consist of rare books, original documents and artefacts which support various teaching and research areas of the University of Roehampton. The collections relate to Friedrich Froebel and the kindergarten, Froebel College, Children's Literature and the children’s book author Richmal Crompton, Dance, and to a number of other areas including Religious Studies.

The Library also subscribes to number of large archive collections that are not freely available online. These can be found on the other pages in this guide.

Other libraries, archives and institutions

UR Library Search and FAQs

A-Z Database List

A-Z Journal List

Library FAQs

Suggest a book

Inter Library Loans & Using Other Libraries

Inter Library Loans  

The Inter Library Loan Service gives students and academic staff the option of requesting books, book chapters and journals articles when we do not have them in the Library collection. The items are borrowed from the British Library and U.K. and Ireland institutions and are supplied for free.   

Inter Library Loans are not available for Alumni or our partner institutions. 

You can also check the availability for the item in academic libraries near you on Jisc Library Hub Discover; it may be faster to visit another London academic library through the SCONUL scheme.  

Placing an Inter Library Loan request  

UR Library Search should be checked as only requests for items not held in our collection will be processed. Before you request a journal article we suggest that you check our A-Z Journal List. If the item is already available in the Library, your request will be cancelled, and you will be notified by email. To comply with copyright requirements, a single article only from any one issue of a journal can be copied for the same user at any time. Similarly, no more than one chapter or 10% of a book can be copied. 

  • Ensure you are logged into your library account before trying to request an ILL – you will see your name in the top right. 
  • Once you have navigated to the article or book you need in UR Library Search, click on ‘Request item through Interlibrary Loan’ under 'Check Availability'. Fill in all the required fields on the form.  
  • If you're requesting a book chapter, please include the details in the note field. Especially useful are - page numbers, chapter number and chapter title. 
  • Enter your Roehampton email; requests with personal emails will be rejected. 
  • Under Barcode enter the number on your Roehampton ID card including the ‘P’. 
  • Click ‘Submit’.
  • N.B. If you wish to request an article that cannot be found on UR Library Search, please email interlib@roehampton.ac.uk with full details of the article (Journal title, Author, Article Title, Year, Volume no, Issue no, Page nos)

Articles will be sent to your Roehampton email with a link and password. Please note once a document has been uploaded, it is available for 30 days or 5 views, whichever comes first. 

We aim for a 2 week turn-around time provided the request has all the necessary information, the item is available and your Library account is not currently blocked for any reason.

We cannot guarantee the fulfilment of Inter Library Loans due to restrictions of lending institutions.

Collecting Inter Library Loans

Articles will be sent to your Roehampton email with a link and password. Please note once a document has been uploaded, it is available for 30 days or 5 views, whichever comes first.

The borrower's signature is required when both collecting and returning books. Items can only be collected and returned to the Welcome Desk during Core Hours. Inter Library Loans cannot be posted.

Please note that occasionally lending institutions have items that can only be used within our library premises. These are Reference items that you will be able to borrow for periods of 3 hours. For more information, please see the orange label on the item.

Renewing Inter Library Loans

Inter Library Loans requested as books are not renewable. In very exceptional circumstances we will attempt to renew the item once on request. To request a renewal please contact us 3-5 working days before the due date. If you do not return your Inter Library Loan by the due date or request a renewal, your account will be blocked.

Please note that the lending institution may recall the item before the due date, in which case we will contact you with an updated due date.

Returning Inter Library Loan books 

If you still have ILL books that you borrowed before Covid, please return them to the Welcome Desk during Core Hours. Your signature will be required. If you’re not coming onto campus due to Covid and you need to post an ILL book back, please e-mail interlib@roehampton.ac.uk for instructions.  

Inter Library Loan request cancellations  

If an item cannot be supplied, an automated notification will be sent to your Roehampton email account. This could be the case for rare items or items recently published. 

Theses  

We use the British Library service EThOS to provide access to UK theses - you will need to register an account with them to download theses.  Contact us on interlib@roehampton.ac.uk if you have a query.  

Academic staff and PG Research students may request purchase of theses found on Proquest Dissertations Dissertations (proquest.com).  Please email interlib@roehampton.ac.uk with the link to the thesis. You will be required to sign a copyright declaration form https://roehampton.libwizard.com/f/ILL_copyright

Requests from personal emails will not be accepted.

If you are looking for a book which is not currently in our Collection but which you think would be useful to have in our Library, you can recommend it for purchase via the form below. 

If it is an item for your own personal research, please use our Inter Library loan service.

SCONUL

SCONUL Access is a scheme which allows many university library users to borrow or use books and journals at other UK academic libraries which belong to the scheme, or just the convenience of studying in a library closer to your home. It's completely free to join, so sign up online today.

The scheme works on a banding system:
Band A access is for academic staff and research students.  Almost all member libraries admit band A users.
Band B access is for part-time and distance learning students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and those on placement (eg PGCE in schools). You can borrow books from libraries in this band.
Band C covers full-time taught course postgraduate students, who can borrow books from libraries in this band.
Band R full time undergraduate students can have reference access to some libraries.

Not all member libraries allow access to all bands in the scheme.  Always check before you visit a library that they allow access to your band. Each Library in the scheme is listed on the SCONUL Access website​.  To find out which libraries are part of the scheme check the SCONUL website.

To use the scheme you will need to apply for access through the SCONUL website.  The application process is simple and after you submit your application it will be authorised by a member of Library staff. You will receive an email on your University account which you can print off and take with you to visit other libraries.  Users must be in ‘good standing’ with the Library i.e. have no large outstanding fines, before they can join the scheme. 

When visiting other libraries please note:

  • The number of books you can borrow may be limited and you may not be allowed to borrow from some collections.
  • Access to electronic resources is likely to be restricted.
  • The library you visit may have specific rules.

The British Library 

The British Library at St Pancras, London is a national research library. It does not lend books nor does it aim to stock multiple copies of basic text books. If your research needs are not fulfilled by other libraries, see the British Library catalogue and Reader Registration. For more information about getting a Reader Pass, please see the British Library website. 

Specialist libraries 

There are many specialist libraries in London that may be of use to your studies. Ask your Academic Achievement Librarian for help and advice on locating and using specialist London libraries.  
General advice for access: 

  • Telephone or email first as you may have to make an appointment to see the collection. 
  • Tell the librarian what you have already found and be specific about what you still need. 
  • Record all the bibliographic details of any material you use as you may not be able to recheck them.   

Other Catalogues 

  • Jisc Library Hub Discover is a national Library catalogue that accesses the catalogues of many of the largest UK and Ireland university libraries. 

  • London Libraries allows searches and provides information on special collections. 

  • ULRLS is the catalogue of the University of London Research Library Services.