University of Portsmouth Library Virtual Tour

Welcome to your virtual tour of the University Library

The library is a smoking-free zone. If you vape, please do so outside. If you smoke, please do so in Ravelin Park and more than five metres from any window or doorway. Please dispose of any litter, including cigarette butts, responsibly using the dedicated bins provided. Thank you.

Head right from the Library entrance for Ravelin Sports Centre and leafy Ravelin Park. The Sports Centre hosts a climbing wall, swimming pool, extensive gym and exercise classes at a discounted rate for staff and students. Ravelin Park is a great space in which to relax and catch up with friends and eat or study al fresco!

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Up to 1st floor

The Community Noticeboard is a space where anyone can display notices and advertisements for clubs, societies and pretty much anything else.

You can reserve books using the Library catalogue and they will be made available for you to collect from the collection point here in the Atrium. Visit our Click & Collect service webpage for more information.

Toilets There are toilets on every floor of the Library. Each toilet block includes at least one accessible toilet for use by wheelchair users. Accessible toilets The toilets at the front and back of the building on the ground floor include wheelchair-accessible toilets secured with a RADAR key. If you need to use these accessible toilets, please ask at the Reception Desk to borrow the key. The Reception Desk is located to your left on the other side of the inner set of entrance doors. Drinking water There are cold drinking water fountains beside the Library Café and at the far side of the second floor.

The Library has been awarded Customer Service Excellence accreditation in recognition of the way we work to help people like you. We are continually striving to improve the service we provide, and much of the service you see today was based on student feedback. If there is anything you think we should do or change, please let us know through our Online Suggestion Box or by posting a suggestion into the red postbox near the IT Help Desk on the ground floor.

Just beyond these glass doors on your left is the Library Reception Desk. While you can get help and advice on anything related to the Library, finding and referencing information on our website and through online chat, please speak to a member of staff at the Reception Desk if you:

• have forgotten your student card
• have any security concerns
• need a first aider
• just want to speak to a member of staff in person

We regret that only hot food bought in the Library Coffee Shop may be consumed inside the Library, which are designed with a minimum of packaging. You are welcome to eat takeaways and other hot foods here in the Entrance Area.

Any library account queries or problems with loans can be resolved here in moments. If you have a more in-depth enquiry, staff may offer you one-to-one help with a librarian. If the Library desks are unstaffed, you can always get help and advice 24/7 by phone or online chat. You can also email us and we will respond within 48 hours (excluding weekends, bank holidays and University closed days) and often much sooner.

Here is where we print all the new university cards. When Library staff are unavailable, you can get help and advice 24/7 by phone or online chat. You can email us and we will respond within 48 hours (excluding weekends, bank holidays and University closed days) and often much sooner.

The lift offers access to both the upper floors for anyone to use, great for anyone with mobility difficulties or who is just struggling under the weight of too many books!

At the Library Skills Drop-in you can get help using library resources, finding academic information, and referencing what you have used. A friendly librarian is available between 11 am - 3 pm, Mondays - Fridays. You can also get instant answers from anywhere by chatting to a librarian online through the Library website at any time, 24/7. Click the "Chat to a librarian" button on the Library website to get started. .

The touchscreen information kiosks provide information about many useful services you can find through the library and university website with your mobile phone. On the Library website, you can even bring up a floor plan to show you where your books are shelved.

You can book group study rooms with plasma presentation screens up to two weeks in advance to study and practice presentations together.

The glass cupboards at the side of the Atrium contain artists' books, boxed sets and other books with pop-up sections, removable parts, interestingly and irregularly shaped covers, or that are otherwise not suitable for shelving with our main collection. You are welcome to borrow these books - please ask a member of staff.

Individual study pods on the ground floor offer a comfortable, distraction free study experience with adjustable lighting.

Borrow or return books whenever the Library is open using the self-service kiosks. The kiosk will tell you whether you should put returned books in the bin to your left or the trolley on your right.

Returned books are reshelved here temporarily. If you cannot find the book you want immediately, please ask a member of staff to assist you.

This drinking water fountain was recently replaced by a drinking water bottle refill station beside the Librry Café and Book Nook. A second drinking water refill station is available on the second floor. We regret we cannot offer hot water on tap for health and safety reasons.

There are toilets on every floor, including accessible toilets. Both this toilet block and the one inside the main entrance have wheelchair-accessible toilets locked with a RADAR key. Please ask to borrow this key at the Reception Desk.

Further along this corridor, the teaching rooms and open access computer rooms are available for you to use at any time the Library is open and they are not being used for teaching. Some of the open access computer rooms are for Individual Silent Study. Please check the signs on display if you are using an open access computer room to see whether you are allowed to talk.

The Individual Silent Study rooms of the Postgraduate Study Suite are study spaces exclusively available to postgraduates.

The group study room of the Postgraduate Study Suite is another study space exclusively available to postgraduates.

Up to 1st floor

IT Helpers are here to help you solve all your computing problems other than accessing or using library resources. For anything concerning library resources, please ask at the Library Skills Drop-in Office off the Atrium or chat with a librarian online through the Library website.

Up to 1st floor

Return to IT Help desk

More sound-muffling drop-in meeting booths with adjustable lighting are available near the IT Help Desk on the ground floor.

All the printers in the library can be found along this wall just past the concrete central stairwell. For A4 and A3 size printing, send your printing to the print queue and then scan your university card at any printer on campus within 24 hours to retrieve your printing. If you need to print a poster larger than A3, send it to the large format printer and then ask at the IT Help Desk when you would like the printing released.

Return to IT Help desk

Return to IT Help desk

The Library is set in leafy Ravelin Park - a great place to escape to for al fresco study at a picnic table or to relax.

Return to IT Help desk

Seminar Room UL 0.26 is one the largest library teaching rooms. You may have library induction sessions in here.

Ordinarily, laptops may be borrowed from these lockers for use anywhere in the Library for up to 12 hours at a time.

To the left of here is another Library seminar room, UL 0.25. You might be invited to a library induction session there. Please ask any member of staff if you need directions.

Return to IT Help desk

Accessible computers are available on the ground floor with adjustable height desks and chairs. Anyone with a disability who needs to use an accessible computer is able to book one of these computers in advance. You can find a guide to library accessibility services on our website.

The red phone box can be used to make free calls to any extension number on campus. The phone uses a rotary dial. Choose the number you want and drag it clockwise as far as it will go to dial that digit, then let the dial return to its resting point before dialling subsequent digits. Past the phone box is the red retro post box. We love to hear from our clients - what you like and how we could improve. Post your comments and suggestions to us here!

Modern computers with a fast, cabled network connection are available throughout the Library open access suite on the ground floor. The entire campus is covered by the fast and secure University wi-fi network to which you may connect mobile devices.

The Library café offers a range of hot and cold drinks and snacks you may enjoy in the Library. Vending machines are also available tucked around the corner to the right of the café, which offers snacks and both hot and cold drinks 24/7. Don't forget the water fountains also offer cold drinking water 24/7.

These display shelves hold the latest issues of popular journals. You can read nearly 7,000 more online through the PressReader app.

From the Book Nook by the Café to the executive chairs overlooking Ravelin Park, there are comfortable seating spaces all across the ground floor of the Library. There are also free drinking water bottle refill stations to help you stay hydrated and well.

Snack and hot drink vending machines are available whenever the Library is open. Cold drinking water is available from the drinking water refill station here and the additional drinking water fountains near the toilet blocks at the front and rear of the ground floor and up on the second floor.

The Near and Far World Books is a growing collection of bilingual, translated and non-English language children’s books. It incorporates the prestigious collection, Outside In World Children's Books in Translation, which has been translated from their original language into English. The collections are situated near the Library Café on the ground floor for easy access for all our visitors. We actively encourage the collections to support research and teaching at the University of Portsmouth and in the wider academic world, and for community outreach work. Items within the collections are included on the Library Catalogue and most items are available for you to borrow.

The Library café offers a range of hot and cold drinks and snacks you may enjoy in the Library. Vending machines are also available tucked around the corner to the right of the café, which offers snacks and both hot and cold drinks 24/7. Don't forget the water fountains outside most toilet blocks and the drinking water refill station beside the vending machines also offer cold drinking water 24/7.

You can borrow full-size, high-speed laptops from these lockers for up to 12 hours for use in the library building. You can also use any of the library desktop computers or connect your own laptop or mobile device to our fast wireless network anywhere in the Library.

Meeting pods muffle sound entering and leaving to create impromptu group working spaces. All are available on a first-come basis but please feel free to join others working here.

Down to ground floor

Up to 2nd floor

There are accessible, gender-neutral toilets at the end of this room but the close proximity of the shelving units limits wheelchair access. Wheelchair accessible toilets are available on the far side of the first floor.

The computers on the first and second floors have been partially replaced with docking stations so that you can bring your own powerful device, plug in and then make use of the large screens and desktop peripherals to allow more comfortable working.

Fun fact: The Library still has a microfilm collection, even though almost everything we hold is now available through our electronic resources.

You can borrow Pathfinder and Landranger series Ordnance Survey maps just like you can books.

The Map Library offers a unique set of maps and advice on using our extensive digital cartography software suite. For a small fee, the Map Library also offers large format flatbed scanning. The Map Library is staffed for shorter hours than the rest of the library. Map library opening times are available on the Map Library webpage and are advertised on the Map Library desk. If you are planning to travel in for Map Library services, please call or chat to a librarian in advance and make sure the Map Library is open to avoid disappointment. You can still always seek expert advice on using our digital mapping resources by emailing the Map Librarian.

There are accessible gender-neutral toilets at this end of both the first and second floors.

Docking stations have been installed on the first and second floors. These stations allow you to connect a laptop or mobile device and use them together with a full-size curved desktop monitor computer, keyboard, and mouse for total ergonomic comfort. You can borrow a laptop from the lockers downstairs to connect.

Down to ground floor

Up to 2nd floor

Please use the hand sanitation points around the building and wash your hands regularly. Good hand hygiene is important to control the spread of coughs, colds, 'flu, Covid-19, and other communicable diseases.

Students and staff are invited to display their artwork, hobby crafts, project work and anything else suitable for a general audience. We have hosted many varied displays, from photographic studies exploring on cultural issues to representations of countries and culture to displays of illustrations and artists' books. The Library is very happy to help you create and promote your display/exhibition. Learn more about the display space and see current and past exhibitions.

Down to First floor

While you can chat with friends quietly on the ground and first floors, and on the far side of the second floor, in this area where you can see the purple banners you should work silently and switch your electronic devices to silent mode. Please answer any telephone calls in one of the enclosed stairwells or other zones where you will not disturb others.

Just to the right of here, a set of wooden doors leads back down to the first floor and Atrium, near the main entrance.

A cold drinking water fountain. Two more are available on the ground floor, outside the toilet blocks at the front and rear of the building. We regret we are not able to supply hot drinking water for health and safety reasons.

Accessible, gender-neutral toilets. More are available in the same position on the first floor, in the side area of the first floor.

Group study rooms and the ground floor Meeting Room can be booked up to two weeks in advance for small groups to study together. Each room has either plasma screen (the Meeting Room has a projector) to which you can connect a laptop and practice presentations or carry out group work.

More docking stations on the second floor allow you to connect laptops and mobile devices and work using a large, curved desktop screen and peripherals.

Down to FIRST floor

This is the door to the University Archive. You can book an appointment with the Archivist, who can help you discover and use archival materials related to the history of the University and the local area. Click here to visit the University Archive web pages and browse the separate catalogues of archival materials available. Our collections are growing all the time, so it's always worth checking back every now and again!

Individual Silent Study spaces with moveable desk dividers can be found throughout the Individual Silent Study Zone on the second floor.