Can I join the library as a member of the public?

Members of the public

Access for members of the public is available under the following schemes. There is currently no access for members of the public who are not eligible via these routes.

SCONUL Access Scheme

If you are a student from another University in the UK or the Republic of Ireland you may be interested in the SCONUL Access scheme.

Post-graduate, part-time, distance, and placement students can apply to join the scheme to borrow materials from the University of Derby library at Kedleston Road. Members will also be provided with limited access to computing facilities.

Full-time undergraduate students may be able to join the scheme to use the University's resources for reference only.

Alumni membership

Derby Alumni benefit from free membership of our University of Derby library at the Kedleston Road campus.

Alumni members are eligible for the following services:

• You can borrow up to five standard loan items at a time (i.e. physical books).
• Books are issued for one week and automatically renew unless reserved by another user.
• You can bring your own laptop/tablet and sign in to our visitor WiFi network.

Alumni members are not eligible to the following services:

• Use of our computers or electronic resources (i.e. journals, databases, etc).
• Requesting or reserving items.
• Use of study rooms.

To register for Alumni membership, please visit our Kedleston Road library site Monday-Friday 9am-4pm.

You will need to bring valid photo ID (i.e. passport, driving licence), plus your original qualification certificate.

If you have any queries about the process, or if you would like to book an appointment, please contact library@derby.ac.uk, and we will let you know our next available appointments.

Community Access Scheme

We offer Community Access to visitors who are aged 18 and over, who are currently studying at an educational institution that is not part of the SCONUL Access scheme.

You will need to provide: 

• a letter from your educational institution that you are currently enrolled with them and are in good standing 
• the name and length of your course, including the start and end date 
• your full name and address 

You can submit the letter from your institution by emailing library@derby.ac.uk and attaching it to the email as a PDF. Alternatively, the representative from your institution can email library@derby.ac.uk directly from their staff email address. 

Once we have received and processed this letter, and providing it meets with our eligibility requirements, we will invite you to make an appointment to come to the university to process your visitor pass. At this point, we would need you to present your student card from your home institution and an in-date form of photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence. 

Community Access members are eligible for the following services:

• You can access and use the general library space.
• You can browse and make use of our physical collection whilst inside the library.
• You can bring your own laptop/tablet and sign in to our visitor WiFi network.

Community Access members are not eligible to the following services:

• Use of our computers or electronic resources (i.e. journals, databases, etc).
• Borrowing items/taking items out of the library.
• Requesting or reserving items.
• Use of study rooms.

Please note there is no access to the FE library at Buxton.