The Library isn’t just somewhere you can get books. It’s somewhere you can do your work on your own or with others, escape sensory overload and get some help with studying. This section of the toolkit will introduce UCL’s Library and the services it can offer you.

Many students in the Autism&Uni surveys mentioned the library as somewhere they really enjoyed being, whether they needed some quiet space to get away from it all or find some help or just to get some work done. UCL has specialist library staff who understand disability and want to help you make the most out of your time at uni. They can help you with finding, choosing and using library resources, amongst many other things.

There is support available to assist you with academic research and you can find out further information here. 

The Library is also more than a physical place full of books- a lot of the resources you need for your course are online and need to be accessed via the Library’s website as they don’t always appear in search engine results.

You can also manage your library account online, which can help with anxiety around forgetting your library PIN, not being sure how many books you have borrowed or ending up with library fines.

Please bear in mind that while most facilities are available to all students, to access some of the support mentioned below you will need to be registered with Student Support and Wellbeing. There is a useful overview of services for disabled students, including autistic students, on the library website.

Places to study (and quiet spaces even when not studying)

UCL’s main library is in the Wilkins building on Gower Street. There are also a number of other libraries at UCL including the science library and a number of departmental libraries. See the full list here

There are different types of study space, so even if you go in and find it a bit noisy, it’s not like that everywhere. There are group study areas (usually the bright and noisy places), silent study and bookable group meeting rooms. See here for a list of bookable study spaces.

Face to Face Support

1. Help Point– there are help points throughout the main library where you can ask for help with your library account, IT problems or study-related queries like referencing or finding resources for an assignment.

This video explains more:

Library Subject Guides

Each subject has a guide with links to resources, where to find items and details about the individual librarian for that subject. Click here for the link to the subject support guides.

Accessing support online and by phone

Sometimes you may have a more specific query or a technical problem. The Help and Information Points are staffed during the day, but out of hours or when you don’t really want to talk to a person face-to-face, you can get library and IT help via phone, email and social media. Details here.

Managing your library account – and uni life – online

You can use the UCL library services Explore site to search the library, see what books you have out and renew your items. Just follow the link here. You will need to login following the link the top right hand corner.

Succeeding as a university student is about making the most of the opportunities you are given. Students in our survey said they regretted trying to cope for too long without accessing all the help they were entitled to, or finding spaces that worked for them.

Are you currently working on an assignment?

Have you worked independently anywhere other than at home/halls before?

Have you tried techniques like mind mapping to work on a topic?

Contact library services for further information:

Tel: 020 76797110

E-mail: lib-membership@ucl.ac.uk

Student Support and Wellbeing at UCL