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Library Guides

An orientation: Library Service and Learning Development: CMP, FAMM, Fashion Design, Film, Photography: Other libraries etc

Introducing other libraries

London is home to some fantastic libraries, most of which you can access.  This is particularly useful for students embarking on their final year, or postgraduate students.

Find more libraries on the Using other libraries guide

Academic libraries - SCONUL Access

Apply for a SCONUL Access card to get access to UK university libraries (e.g. UAL, RCA, UCL).  Your Eduroam account will also work in most libraries

Public libraries

Westminster City Council Library Service is well worth joining, as they have some good electronic resources you can access remotely, including some useful for courses in the school of arts. For example, Screen Studies (from Bloomsbury) is a useful ebook collection for film, and Fashion Monitor (contacts, news and events) is available at Westminster Business Library. 

You can also access general-interest eBooks and audiobooks from this library.

Archives

  • AIM 25 [Archives within the M25 - the motorway which surrounds Greater London]
     
  • Archives Hub [JISC] -  find unique sources for your research, both physical and digital. Search across descriptions of archives, held at over 390 institutions across the UK
     
  • National Archives - the official national archive of the UK Government and for England and Wales

Can't find what you need?

Use the 'Can't find what you need?' to obtain sources not available at Westminster

  • It is free
  • We aim to provide the source within ten days

NB: The first part of the process initiates a search on Library Search to make sure the item is not in stock. After, this you can request the item by filling in the request form.

Searching beyond Library Search

Library Search is a useful start and is sufficient for research for most assignments.  However, you could also try the following, especially when tackling more in-depth research.  This is particularly important for final-year students writing dissertations.
 

  • Library Hub Discover - a union catalogue of most academic libraries in the UK and Ireland, including the University of Westminster
     
  • Worldcat - a worldwide version of Library Hub Discover
     
  • Google Scholar / Google Books - an easy way to search for academic sources
    (link Google Scholar to University of Westminster library in Settings>Library Links)
     
  • CORE - a collection of open-access research papers

Hidden sources

In some cases, using alternative search tools might be a way of identifying sources available at Westminster but which are otherwise hidden.  For example, a library Hub Discover search for photography autism shows Polly Braden's book 'Great Interactions' is available at Westminster.  However, it does not appear on Library Search using the same search!

Google Scholar 'cited by'

Google Scholar has a 'cited by' feature that links to sources that cite the source you are looking at. Library Search also has this on some titles.

Theses and Dissertations

  • Westminster Research - the institutional repository (see specifically Westminster School of Arts / CREAM theses  for a selection, which is not comprehensive).
     
  • Older theses may only be available in print and listed on Library Search - see here for examples. These are held offsite and can be requested by University of Westminster staff and students using the inter-library loan service. Details are here. 
     
  • EThoS - doctoral theses available from the British Library (currently not available due to the cyber attack on the British Library)
     
  • PQDT Open - open access theses and dissertations
     
  • EBSCO Open Dissertations
     
  • OATD - open access theses and dissertations