Holiday Checklist

Wherever you plan to be over the holidays, your SGUL library membership can help you keep studying. Check our three quick tips below to help you make the most of our resources no matter where you are.

1. Reset your SGUL password

Your SGUL login and password give you access to a huge range of online resources – including e-journals and e-books and tools such as Acland’s Anatomy, BMJ Best Practice and Cite Them Right – from anywhere with an internet connection. So you probably don’t want to find your password has expired when you’re 200 (or 2000) miles from campus.

To avoid this, we recommend resetting your password before you leave SGUL to ensure it won’t expire for another three months. Use the password change link, or drop in and see us at the Library Helpdesk between 8am and 6pm on weekdays.

Forgotten/expired password?

If your password does expire while you’re away – or you’ve forgotten it – you may be able to reset it using this link. For this to work, you must have previously registered a personal email address, and you can do that here (current login required).

2. If you’ve borrowed books, keep an eye on renewals

Any books that you’ve borrowed will renew automatically as long as no-one else requests them. So in most cases, the only reminder you’ll receive is an email telling you that your items have successfully renewed.

But if one of your books is requested by another user, you’ll receive an email and will need to try and return it by the due date if possible.

Due dates – good news!

All books that renew on or after 17th December will have an earliest due date of 2nd January. Three-week loan books are already renewing until January.

If you’re unable to return a recalled book by the due date…

…we recommend signing in to your account in Hunter where you can attempt to renew it manually. If another copy of the book has been returned, your renewal will succeed – so try this over several days to increase your chances.

Find more detailed guidance in our blog post here.

 

3. Register to study in a library near you

SGUL Library is a member of the SCONUL access scheme, allowing our users reference access to over 170 other university libraries across the UK and Ireland. (Postgraduates may also get limited borrowing rights in some cases.)

To start using the scheme, follow the steps on the SCONUL Access page. Within a few days*, and provided there are no fines on your Library account, you’ll receive an email from us which you can take to your chosen library along with your SGUL ID for access.

Free WiFi with Eduroam

Like SGUL, many universities in the UK and worldwide use Eduroam for WiFi. If you’re visiting another university – or just passing nearby – you’ll often pick up the network on a WiFi-enabled phone or laptop and will be able to connect using your SGUL username (remember to include @sgul.ac.uk) and password.

*We’ll be unable to reply to SCONUL requests from 21st December to 1st January inclusive. If you plan to visit another library during this period, we also recommend checking opening dates on their website.

 

Summer Holiday Checklist

Planning to be away from SGUL over the next few months? We’ve put together three quick tips that we hope will help keep your studies going smoothly over the summer.

1. Reset your SGUL password

Resetting your password before you leave campus ensures it won’t expire for the next three months. Use the password change link, or drop in to the Library Helpdesk between 8am and 6pm on weekdays.

Forgotten/Expired password?

If your password does expire while you’re away, you may be able to reset it from offsite using this link.

Note: you must have already set up an external email address and if you don’t receive the reset link, check your junk mail folder.

Access e-resources with your SGUL login

Your SGUL login and password give you access to a wide range of online resources – including electronic journals, e-books and tools such as Acland’s Anatomy and BMJ Best Practice – from anywhere with an internet connection.

Check our helpsheet (PDF) for advice about accessing e-resources while you’re away from SGUL.

2. Keep an eye on book renewals

Any books that you’ve borrowed will renew automatically as long as no-one else requests them. So in most cases, the only reminder you’ll receive is an email telling you that your items have successfully renewed.

But if one of your books is requested by another user, you’ll receive an email asking you to return it by the due date.

If your book is requested while you’re away from SGUL…

…you will still need to return it by the due date if possible. Overdue books are fined at 20p per day and are invoiced after two weeks.

But if you’re unable to return a book by the due date, we recommend signing in to your account in Hunter where you can attempt to renew it manually. If another copy of the book has been returned, your renewal will succeed – so try this over several days to increase your chances.

Find more detailed guidance in our blog post here.

3. Register to study in a library near you

SGUL Library is a member of the SCONUL access scheme, allowing our users reference access to over 170 other university libraries across the UK and Ireland. (Postgraduates may also get limited borrowing rights in some cases.)

To start using the scheme, follow the steps on the SCONUL Access page. Within a few days, and provided there are no fines on your Library account, you’ll receive an email from us which you can take to your chosen library along with your SGUL ID card to apply for access.

Free WiFi with Eduroam

Like SGUL, many universities in the UK and worldwide use Eduroam for WiFi. If you’re visiting another university – or just passing nearby – you’ll often pick up the network on a WiFi-enabled phone or laptop and will be able to connect using your SGUL username (remember to include @sgul.ac.uk) and password.

Service Update: Increased Loans, Changes to Fines and Automatic Renewals

Library staff are pleased to announce that we’ve made a number of changes to our rules and regulations that will improve your experience of borrowing items from the Library:

 

We’ve increased the amount of items you can borrow.

SGUL students/staff and NHS staff are now able to borrow up 15 items at one time. Some exceptions do apply*.

 

We’ve increased the amount of renewals on your loans.

Items on your record will now be automatically renewed until the end of your course.

Loans for NHS and SGUL staff will be automatically renewed until their Library account expires. This means you won’t have to remember to renew the items yourself, or bring them back to the Library when they have reached their renewal limit.

However, items won’t successfully renew if another user requests them, or you have accumulated more than £10 in fines. You’ll be notified by email if your book has been requested by another user.

 

We’ve changed the way we charge overdue fines.

By introducing these rolling renewals, we hope our users will accumulate fewer overdue fines over the course of their studies.

However, if a book is recalled, you’ll be charged 20p per day until the book is returned.

We’ll also continue to issue invoices for non-returned, lost or damaged items, which cover the cost of a replacement plus an additional administration charge.

 

By increasing the amount of books you can borrow and extending your renewals, we hope that borrowing books from the library becomes a more flexible experience for the majority of users.

However, rolling renewals will mean that books are likely to be off the shelves for longer periods if they aren’t requested by other users. Therefore it will become more important for users to request books that are on loan by placing a hold (or reservation). If you’ve not placed a hold before, see our FAQs below for further instructions.

 

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FAQs

 

How can I check when my books are due?

You can manage your account by signing sign in to Hunter using the login option in the top right-hand corner (or by clicking the ‘My Account’ link on the library homepage).

SGUL staff and students should login using their University username and password. NHS staff can obtain their login by emailing library@sgul.ac.uk

Your Library Card overview will show you everything you have on loan, and their due dates:

 

How do I place a hold on a book I need?

To place a hold on a book you’ll need to make sure that:

a) you are signed in to Hunter

b) all copies of the book you need are on loan to other users

If that is the case, an option to ‘Place Hold’ will appear above the location information for your book:

Click on this link and you’ll then be asked to confirm your request.

Step-by-Step instructions for placing a hold can be found here.

Don’t forget, you can manage your holds by signing-in to your account in Hunter. If you no longer need a particular title, please do be courteous and cancel your request so it becomes available for another user.

 

I’m going on placement – what if someone requests the book I’ve borrowed?

If you know you are going to be away for St George’s for some time, we’d usually recommend using an electronic version of the book you intend to borrow to avoid picking up fines on physical items you are unable to return.

However, using an electronic version isn’t always possible. While it’s likely that the rolling automatic renewals will last the duration of your placement, if someone has placed a hold on your item it will still need to be returned by the due date. Otherwise you’ll be charged 20p per day until the book is returned.

If your book has been reserved but you are unable to return it, please sign-in to your Library account on Hunter and attempt to renew it manually by clicking the ‘Renew’ button next to the correct item in your ‘Loans’ section. By doing this, if another copy of the book is returned, your renewal will be successful. You may need to attempt this over a few days to allow enough time for another user to return their copy.

 

I have outstanding fines on my account – do I need to pay them?

Yes – although fines are changing, you will still need to pay any outstanding fines on your account. Try to pay them as promptly as possible: once your fines reach £10.00 your books won’t automatically renew and you won’t be able to borrow further items.

 

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If you have any further questions about these changes, please send them to the User Services team by emailing library@sgul.ac.uk or ask a member of staff at the Library Helpdesk.

 

*Exceptions include: honorary members of staff, elective students & placement students. Some NHS job categories are only eligible for restricted loans or reference only access.