Joining the Library

All students registered on a course with the University of Cumbria will automatically join the library. 

Your Cumbria Card is your library card.  Please familiarise yourself with the Cumbria Card terms and conditions.

You may be given your Cumbria card at the start of your course. If not, just call into your campus library to collect it. 

If you are a distance learning student, your card will be posted to the address on your student record.

Having your Cumbria Card with you makes it quicker to use the self-service kiosks when you are borrowing items from the library. You can return items without your card.

At the start of your course you should set your library PIN. You will need this to borrow items from the library.

Make sure you familiarise yourself with our library services and resources.

University of Cumbria is a member of several reciprocal borrowing schemes:

• Sconul Access Scheme. You will need to fill in our External Borrower Application Form.
• Cumbria Higher Education Library Partnership Scheme (CHELPS) application form and information
• NHS Passport to Partnership (P2P) scheme P2P Application Form

To join the library, email the completed form to library@cumbria.ac.uk with a passport style photograph (for your library card) with your full postal address and we will post your library card to you. If you are using the Sconul Access Scheme please also send your approval email.

You will have the same entitlement as external borrowers. You will not have access to networked computers.

Students at Lancaster and Morecambe College should complete Library Application Form LMC

All members of the public are welcome to use the library facilities for reference and study purposes during staffed hours. 

All our books and journals are listed on our library catalogue, OneSearch.  Use OneSearch to check the availability of titles before your visit.

Using the library

All printed material is available to consult in the library.  If you wish to borrow items see below.

You can access a selection of our electronic resources during your visit.  Find out more on this page.

You can bring your own laptop (for which you are responsible) but you will not have access to the wifi, printers or networked computers. 

Can I borrow from the library?

Library membership is free for University of Cumbria alumni. You will need your university student number when you complete the community borrower application form. If you can't remember that number please email library@cumbria.ac.uk for help.

If you studied on a franchised course or a partnership course, you are able to join for a reduced fee of £35. If you are not sure what sort of course you were on please contact library@cumbria.ac.uk so that we can check for you.

You can join as a community borrower by paying an annual fee of £50. You will need to complete the Community borrower application form.  Email the completed form to library@cumbria.ac.uk with a passport style photograph (for your library card) with your full postal address and we will post your library card to you.

You may be able to join for free if:

• you are studying at another HE institution under the Sconul Access agreement.
• you are studying at an FE college in Cumbria under the CHELPS scheme.
• you are a member of a NHS library under the (P2P) scheme. You will need to bring a form signed by your home institution and complete a registration form for us.
• you are an alumni of the University of Cumbria. 

Once you have joined:

• you will be able to borrow four items from the lending or teaching practice collections.
• you will be able to request one item from another campus.
• you will be liable for fines for overdue books and charges for lost items at the publicised rates.
• you will not be eligible for postal loans.

Here to help

If you have any questions then email library@cumbria.ac.uk. Library staff will be able to give brief introductions to using the library and accessing its stock.  We cannot carry out in-depth queries, do literature searches or provide information skills training.

Members of the public and alumni are welcome to use the libraries for reference and study purposes free of charge during staffed hours. If you wish to borrow items you can pay an annual fee and join the library; alumni can join for free. 

Please complete an External Borrower Application Form.

You will have the same entitlement as external borrowers. You will not have access to networked computers. "Walk-in access" to a subset of our electronic resources is available

Please note we can only process applications 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday.

In October 2022 University of Cumbria began our journey to join the growing number of UK universities who are being recognised as Universities of Sanctuary. 

The Universities of Sanctuary organisation is a national network of university staff, lecturers, academics, and students, working to make Higher Education institutions places of welcome, belonging and safety for people seeking sanctuary.

For members of local refugee and asylum seeking community groups University of Cumbria library is pleased to be able to offer the following at our Lancaster campus library:

• Free library card
• Free book loans (up to four books at a time)
• Free internet access
• Free study and reading space between 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday
• Access to and borrowing rights for a dedicated 'sanctuary' collection of ESOL/EFL books.

Please complete this short Registration Form if you would like to join this scheme.

If you have any questions please contact us for a friendly chat at library@cumbria.ac.uk