If you need materials not held at Reading you can use our Inter-Library Loans service to request them from another library, or you may be able to visit another library to use them.
The ILL service can obtain a wide range of academic books, journals, and conference proceedings. Because of the costs involved it is meant only for material which is essential to your studies or research.
For more information see our Inter-Library Loans webpages:
As a member of the University of Reading you can usually use other academic libraries. However, if you want to consult another Library's collections please contact the Library concerned before making a special journey.
You can identify some UK research and University libraries by looking at the list of libraries contributing to the Library Hub Discover service:
We are members of two SCONUL schemes which enable you to access many other UK HE libraries. In some cases you may be able to borrow.
For more information see our guide to using other libraries:
As a result of a scheme between public libraries and publishers, over 10 million academic articles are now available to students, academics and other members of the public to access electronically onsite at participating UK public libraries. The Reading Central Library is part of this scheme, as are a number of public libraries within the Wokingham local authority area.
While a number of these articles will fall with the University's journal subscriptions, a sizeable number do not. For further information about what is available and which libraries you can visit to take advantage of this service, see the dedicated Access to Research website.
This Bodleian Social Science Library is the main politics research library of the University of Oxford. Most books published in the UK are deposited free of charge into the University's library collections.
For more information see the Bodleian Social Science Library website.
The British Library is the UK's national research library, with extensive collections of historical and modern published material. As with the Bodleian, most books published in the UK are deposited free of charge into the Library's collections.
For more information see our guidance on accessing the British Library.
The library of the London School of Economics (LSE) is one of the largest in the world devoted to economic and social sciences. Its collections are particularly strong in materials from international organisations.
For more information see the LSE Library website.
The IISS Library holds a comprehensive collection of books, journals and other resources on contemporary international relations and security topics. Library access is available to non-IISS members for a fee, with a reduced rate for students.
For more information see the IISS Library website.
Library of the Royal United Services Institute RUSI), housing a specialist collection of military history books, reference works and journals. The library is open to non-members, with the recommendation that they make an appointment before visiting.
For more information see the RUSI Library website.
The University of Bristol Special Collections holds the largest and longest established collection of election addresses (over 30,000) and campaign literature from all British Parliamentary Elections since 1892. They also hold leaflets from the European Elections, along with campaign literature from other important national plebiscites such as the 1975 and 2016 referendums on membership of the European Union. This material is available for consultation by students, researchers, journalists, and members of the public.
For more information see the University of Bristol Special Collections website.