Library News and Updates

Sometimes you just need to get your head down and study.

If you need somewhere more private for a focussed study session, you might find our library study rooms useful. There are a variety of spaces available across our libraries, from single-person to group study rooms. Lancaster campus also offers an accessible study room - with accessible and sensory features to enhance your study experience - and all of our libraries offer PODS (self-contained studio spaces allowing recording of video/audio content and more). 

You can either book online or drop in to find one suitable for your needs. Learn more about our library study rooms here!

Join the library team for spooky stories and spine-chilling reads. The Read To Me event is an opportunity to share or listen to stories around the theme of Halloween.

On the 27th October, students and staff at Fusehill Street, Carlisle met around the fireplace (made from law reports) to indulge in a selection of ghost, witch and Halloween stories and poems. Writers ranged from Shakespeare and Poe, to one of our very own student authors. 

On Tuesday 3rd November 12:30-13:30 students and staff at Lancaster can do the same. 

Grab a seat in the performance space opposite the library front desk and relax into a chilling hour of tall tales and ghostly goings on. Bring along your own reading from a book or poem or sit back to relax and listen.

Hot drinks and sweet treats provided - drop in for a few minutes or soak up a full hour of stories and poems.

27 October 2026. 

"Stepping up: what new study skills do you want to develop at this level?"

Look out for our next Library Pop-up event week during week of 2^nd of November (Ambleside w/c 9^th November). We want to know what study skills you think you need now you are in the next level of your programme.  What skills do tutors indicate needs some develop as you progress through your current year?

We love to chat with students, so come along to the Pop-up event at your campus and let us know your thoughts.  If you cannot make it add a message on our Padlet or look for our displays in the libraries during the rest of the week.

19th October 2026

Monday 12th October 15.30 - 16.30 in the Harold Bridges library

Join us for an afternoon with local author Hank Williams as he discusses his new novel, What Fools We Have Been.  Discover how Morecambe Bay, a place that has greatly shaped Hank's life, inspired the setting and themes of this poignant exploration of family, identity and memory. As a local author, he offers a distinctive insight into the people, places and experiences that have shaped life around the Bay over the decades. Hank will be giving readings from his novel as well as answering questions about the creative process.  

All students and staff are welcome and hot drinks and sweet treats will be in plentiful supply - come and join us for an fascinating hour.

Refworks  has now been renamed Endnote Fusion.  Functionality will stay the same and all individual folders and settings will remain in place.  We are now working to update our guides and videos. Email skills@cumbria.ac.uk with any queries 

Blackout poetry is back in the Lancaster Campus Library. If you would like to spend some of your time creatively, then pop into Zone One and try it out. Select a book page from the table, use one of our markers to blackout some words and what is left visible is your new poem. We’d love for you to share your creations on the board provided or posting them to our Instagram page.

01 October 2026

We’d love for you to take part in creating a community poem in our library space. We have provided some prompts centred around the theme of fresh starts and new beginnings. Write your responses on the cards provided, take a few calming moments out of your day to help us create an original piece of writing. 

The library staff would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new starters. We'd like to remind you that we are here to help, and we're always happy to see you in the library - come and chat to us at the front desk!

Still haven't submitted a photo for your student card? No problem!

Send a passport style photo to library@cumbria.ac.uk, including your name, student number, and which campus you would like to collect it from. When your card is ready you can collect it from the front desk in the library.

14 September 2026

Dates for our popular webinars are now live for September to December.   Click onto here to check topics and dates. Webinars: Library and Academic skills

There are a variety of topics and timings so check out the timetable for details. 

New this year 

• Transition to higher levels webinars
• Reflective practice

And after a successful pilot we are running our early morning sessions again for the 'Assignment Journey' webinars

If you cannot make the dates for a specific topic, check in the blue banners if we have a pre-recording of the key points from that webinar. 

Details of how to join the session will be sent to you by email at the time of booking and a reminder one hour beforehand.

Here is what some students had to say after attending a webinar: 

• "Thank you very much for today! It's been very reassuring and helpful"
  
  
• "Thank you. I am feeling a bit more confident after being out of the academic loop for a while!"
  
  
• "The redraft has just given me a lightbulb moment as to where I'm going wrong with my own academic writing!"

09 September 2026

Advanced Searching in Ebsco Eresources

On Onesearch you will find a new feature called Research Assistant linked from the top menu.

This new feature, powered by AI,  allows you to ask a question, in your own words, to find 5 key documents from sources on Onesearch (including books and articles) to help you start your topic research.  A link will take you into further potential sources. Make sure you check that the AI summary matches the full content of the source suggested. 

We see this new tool as a way to take initial steps into your searching journey. 

For a more detailed approach do look at our Quick guide to Advanced searching in OneSearch or Advanced Searching in Ebsco Eresources

NB At this present time the Research Assistant does not allow you to make follow up questions on your initial instruction. 

Any queries email skills@cumbria.ac.uk 

10 September 2026 

Have a question for the Library?  Be in touch with the library staff using our Ask a Librarian Chat Service. It's available online, 24/7! 

You can use Ask a Librarian to ask any questions you might have about library services, e.g. loans, returns and renewals, as well as things like referencing, accessing journal articles and much more! 

To give you an idea we’ve picked some examples of questions we have answered via the Ask a Librarian service: 

• Can I reserve a book? 

• Can I request a book from a different library if it is not available at UoC? 

• Can I suggest a book for the library to acquire? 

• How do I get a replacement student card? 

• I have found a journal I would like to use, how can I tell if it is peer reviewed if it does not state that it is in the text? 

• How can I access additional reading material on books that are not online? 

• Can I return a book to the library by post? 

• Can you help with conducting a search for dissertation articles? 

• How do I make an appointment with the academic skills team? 

Use the form on the link above or look for the orange 'Ask a Librarian' tabs on Onesearch

1st September 2026

Did you know our libraries provide a variety of study rooms and spaces for you to make use of when you need to work on assignments.  You can either book or drop in to find one suitable for your needs. We offer everything from group study to quite spaces to focus. Find out more about what is available and book study rooms from our study spaces page. 

30 August 2026

Are you a distance learner? Did you know that you can have library books posted to your home address?

The postal loan scheme costs £30 per year and payment can be made through the online store. This will allow you to select 'home delivery' when you place a book request on OneSearch.

Your books will be sent to the home address that you have registered at the university, and you can return them via our prepaid collect+ service, or at any of our campus libraries. There is no further charge for this after the initial fee.

Click here for full details, or contact us with any questions by email library@cumbria.ac.uk or use the Ask a Librarian chat service.

09 September 2026.

We know students use the free reference generator called MyBib.com to create their reference lists. 

However we see a lot of errors in these reference lists when students ask Skills@Cumbria for assignment support. This can be because they have selected the wrong Harvard version.

When using MyBib.com make sure you select the format for 'Cite Them Right 13th edition - Harvard (no "et al.")

We also have plenty of referencing support on our Referencing page for you to check out too.

Any queries or to ask for a reference list check email skills@cumbria.ac.uk 

09 September 2026