SCONUL Access is a co-operative venture between most of the higher education libraries of the UK and Ireland. It enables staff, research students, full time postgraduates and part-time, distance learning and placement students to borrow material from other libraries.

SCONUL Access provides borrowing privileges for most:

• academic staff on open or fixed term contracts
• postgraduate research students registered for a PhD, MPhil or similar qualification
• part-time, distance learning and placement students
• full-time postgraduates

SCONUL Access also provides for a reference only service for most:

• full-time undergraduate students
• staff of a few higher education libraries not participating in the reciprocal borrowing arrangements

The host library may restrict the range of materials that can be borrowed and SCONUL Access does not provide automatic rights to computer facilities: this includes access to electronic journals and databases to which the host library subscribes..

Full details of the scheme are available on its website www.access.sconul.ac.uk.

For users from other institutions who want to join the University of Portsmouth Library, initial enquiries should be made to your home library. Once you have your SCONUL Access card issued to you, you should bring that, your institutional library/ID card and a passport-size photo to the University of Portsmouth Library, at any time the Issue Desk is open, so we can process your application. Please note that your External reader campus card will not be available for you to use immediately: processing a new card may take up to five working days at busy times and we will advise you by email (preferred) or by post when your new card is available to collect. Your new card enables you to borrow and reserve books, within the limits of our standard External membership.

For University of Portsmouth students and staff who want to join other libraries, please contact the library.registration@port.ac.uk or by phone, 023 9284 3210.
If you have downloaded from the website and completed a SCONUL Access application form, you can post it, marked SCONUL Access, to the Library.