Visitors and alumni

Please check our current opening hours and requirements for entry below.

Services for external visitors include:

  • Access to most print collections.
  • Access to the library catalogue which holds information about Library stock and which is freely available via the web.
  • Guest wireless access accounts for laptops or devices will be provided by the library during staffed opening hours as there is no general access to IT facilities for visitors.
  • Access to this selection of e-resources whilst on London Met Campuses using your own mobile device. Please note that access for commercial activity is prohibited.
  • Photocopying and printing.
  • Limited borrowing rights for some visitor categories.
  • You may request an introduction to the Library from a librarian. Please email library@londonmet.ac.uk giving two weekdays notice so that a suitable date and time can be arranged.

External visitors with a day pass can utilise the pass over two days covering a 24 hour period.

All visitors must collect their card between 9am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday on their first visit. Please note that visitors can only use the library until 9pm Monday to Friday and until 6.30pm on weekends and during vacation time.

We welcome visitors with the designations below:

  • Visiting Professors: if you are affiliated with the University for a minimum of six months some Library services are available to you. You may borrow up to four print items from the main collection. 
  • Retired Staff: you may join the Library as an Alumnus / Alumna for reference only access.  You can apply for Alumni Borrowing Membership for a small charge.
  • Emeritus: some Library services are available to former staff who are assigned Emeritus status by the University.  You may borrow up to four print items from the main collection
  • Contact library@londonmet.ac.uk for further information.
  • Staff and researchers at institutions in London and the south-east who are not SCONUL members can use our libraries via the Access25 M25 Consortium Scheme.
  • The Alumni ID card will give you reference access to the library.
  • Application form and details.
  • Paying a fee allows Alumni members to borrow books. Payment is online via E-shop.
  • Using your own mobile device, you can access a selection of e-resources whilst on Campus by obtaining a guest wi-fi login from the Information desk during library staffed opening hours.
  • Membership gives you free reference access to our print collections. You'll be able to read open-access content listed on the library catalogue, called the Directory of Open Access Journals.
  • If your current SCONUL Access card or approval email has expired, please reapply.
  • If you have a current SCONUL Access card or approval email from your home institution you may use our libraries. There is no general access to IT facilities but if you have registered for Eduroam at your home university, you should be able to access the internet using the Eduroam wi-fi system.

In order to register all SCONUL Access members visiting London Metropolitan University libraries for the first time, applicants must complete the London Met SCONUL Access application form prior to attending the library. Applicants must bring with them on their first visit:

  • A copy of your SCONUL registration email which clearly states your Band (A, B, C or R), an expiry date which is more than 1 calendar month in the future and the details of the representative of your home institution
  • Your home institution ID card

Please ensure you arrive before 5.30pm Monday to Friday on your first visit to ensure entrance.

You will be given a London Met Sconul Access card in due course which will expire at the end of your Sconul Access registration period.

Borrowing rights for Bands A, B and C cannot start until you receive the London Met Sconul Access card although you may visit for reference only purposes with your Sconul registration email and temporary access card.

Sconul summer vacation access allows students and staff from UK universities who are institutional members of Sconul to use our libraries by showing a valid University ID card during the summer vacation. You do not need to be a SCONUL access scheme member.

Student FAQs are available on the Sconul Access website.

  • Reference access only
  • A membership fee is payable:

         1 year - £150      3 months - £50      1 month - £25        1 week - £12      1 day - £7

  • To apply please complete an application form. Provide proof of identity and address (e.g. utility bill, bank statement, rent book) and pay a membership fee (payments are online via E-shop).
  • You will need to provide a passport-sized photo for applications 1 week and over.

Visitor Application for Library

Please note that access to London Met libraries is at the discretion of the Senior Library Assistant or Library Manager.

  • Access25 offers access to scholarly and specialist libraries not included in the SCONUL Access scheme. See the list of institutions in the Access25 scheme. The scheme is open to postgraduate research students and staff from M25 member institutions.

NB: please check current access arrangements with individual libraries before setting out

Members of the public will need a written referral from the Librarian at their Public library for access to research needs sent to: library@londonmet.ac.uk. This will be for one visit free of charge. Subsequent visits will be charged at the rate of general public users.

Frequently asked questions

Copying for Commercial Purposes

(note this is not the same as licensing copies for commercial publication/re-use)

  • To enable such users to make copies of an article in a journal or chapter of a book for commercial purposes, the CLA has a Library Licence Scheme but digital copies eg scans or photographs are not permitted.
  • For each commercial copy Readers are asked to complete a CLA Library Licence form and pay a fee of £27.00 (inc. VAT) online via E-shop, which will then be forwarded to the CLA.
  • This form contains details about what is being copied and assists the CLA with the distribution of the money received to authors, visual artists or publishers. Please retain the CLA Library Licence form (which is also your VAT receipt)
  • If you are unsure whether your copying is commercial or not please refer to staff at library@londonmet.ac.uk
  • Some material may be excluded from the licence by the rightsholder
  • If you are an alumnus/alumna or a visitor to the University wishing to photocopy or print, you can create a guest account online.  Click on "I do not have an account yet, I would like to create one".  Follow the onscreen instructions and you will be given a unique username and password

All visitors are subject to library rules and regulations. The Library reserves the right to withdraw the service where users are in breach of the Library regulations.

  • All visitors must carry valid ID or a day pass.
  • Library ID cards are for personal use only. 
  • All visitors and applicants must be age of 18 or over.
  • SCONUL Access is a scheme which allows many university library users to borrow or use books and journals at other libraries which belong to the scheme.
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