Book stack

West Room

The West Room has a slightly higher security level than the Reading Room. Books fetched to this room cannot be removed from the room or borrowed. There are many reasons why books may be placed in a non-borrowable class but some common reasons are that the book is deemed to be non-academic or it could be very difficult or expensive to replace if it were to go missing or become damaged.

Books fetched to the West Room can often, but not always, be ordered through iDiscover. Request slips are available at the staff desk for those that cannot be requested online, or if you would prefer to order them in person. Once fetched, books and journals are placed behind the counter at the staff desk. Please show your library card or University card to staff when you wish to collect something. Newspapers are fetched to one of the two tables at the North end of the room. Fetched items are kept for the rest of the day and the following working day.

It is possible to reserve West Room items for three working days. Reservation slips can be found at the ends of the desks. All you need to do it fill out the slip with your name and today's date, then tuck the reservation slip inside the book and return it to staff at the desk.

The West Room mezzanine can be accessed by using the staircases at each end of the room and around the back of the staff desk. On the mezzanine you will find the most recent issues of popular journals which are kept in pigeonholes. If a journal has a pigeonhole, you will find the pigeonhole number on iDiscover alongside the classmark for the earlier issues.

At the South end of the Room is our Assistive technology area. To the left of the desk there is a photocopying area and there are 12 PCs for general use. For conservation purposes, it is necessary to request permission from staff to copy or scan West Room items. In the case of books that are at risk of damage, staff will decline self-service copying but will endeavour to offer suitable alternatives

Inter-Library loan requests can be made online or at the West Room staff desk. Payment at the desk is by cash only. Books received on Inter-Library loan items are kept behind the desk and can only be used in the West Room.

Most items fetched from the Library Storage Facility are delivered to the West Room. These are housed off-site and are delivered within two working days of a request being made through iDiscover. These items are held for one week and, although staff will scan the items to your account, they are not borrowable and must be kept in the West Room.

Please exit the West Room and walk back through the Reading Room. Our next stop starts just outside the Reading Room doors.

Self-guided audio tour of the UL
  1. Entrance Hall and Locker Room
  2. Catalogue Landing, Catalogue Hall and North and South Reading Rooms
  3. Main Reading Room
  4. West Room
  5. North Wing 1
  6. Reading Room Corridor North and Rare Books
  7. Tea Room and Map Room
  8. Helpdesk