Michaelmas Term 2024
The Library will be staffed from 9am until 7pm Monday to Friday, and 10am until 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. These hours will operate from Monday 7th October until Sunday 8th December.
There may be occasional last minute early closures – we will always endeavour to let you know about these in advance.
The Upper Library is only open during staffed hours.
The Lower and New Libraries are open 24/7, with the exception of the fixed closure period over Christmas.
Please remember that the Queen’s Library is for Queen’s members only, you may not bring in guests to view the Upper Library without prior permission from a member of the Library staff. Please do not bring non-members of Queen’s to work in the Library at any time – anyone found doing this may face disciplinary action as a consequence.
The Upper Library
The Upper Library is still used as a working library for current members of college but please be mindful that it is a historic building which houses a portion of our rare book collection and must be treated accordingly. To avoid attracting pests and causing damage to the historic furnishings, only bottled water is permitted. Do not bring food or other beverages to the Upper Library.
Belongings left in the Upper Library at closing time are locked in there until the Upper Library next opens. If you are working in the UL you are responsible for your belongings and must take care to ensure you tidy up after yourself when you leave.
We receive visitors throughout the year to view the Upper Library, and whilst we ask all visitors to remain quiet, please do be aware that there may be slight noise disturbance from time to time. There are times when the UL will be closed early for college events – these are usually communicated ahead of time via email.
Click & collect
Most items that are currently available to borrow from the Queen’s Library can be requested on SOLO. You will need to sign into SOLO using your Single Sign-On then click on the “Click & Collect” button to initiate your request. You may request up to 5 items at any one time. Once these requests have been fulfilled, you can request a further 5 and so on – up to a maximum of 30 books.
Please note that the click and collect service is monitored between 9am and 5pm Monday-Friday – requests made after approx. 2pm on a Friday and over the weekend will be processed the following Monday.
Once Library staff have processed your request and the item(s) are available for loan, you will receive an email indicating that they are ready for collection and at what time. Please do not come to the Library before you are advised to do so. Books should be collected from the designated collection point, located just outside the Library.
Book returns
You can return your books in 3 ways:
- Leave them in the drop box left outside the library main entrance – this is a great option if you’re stopping by outside of staffed hours or in a hurry. This box is checked at least once a day Monday – Friday, and books left here will remain visible on your SOLO account until a member of library staff has been able to empty the box and return the books on our system
- Use a self-issue machine – our self issue machines have a return option you can select. Follow the on screen instructions, then leave the books in the drop box below the machine.
- Hand them to us directly – you can stop by the enquiry desk any time you like during staffed hours and drop your books off for return.
Please do not leave your books in your room at the end of term – you must return them directly to the library yourself.
If you have books on loan you will be sent a series of automated reminders prompting you to take some action. If you receive an email saying a book you have on loan has been requested by another reader you will not be able to renew it and will need to bring it back to the Library as soon as possible.
If you think you have returned your books but are still being asked to return them please email library@queens.ox.ac.uk so we can check the shelves.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask and we will do our best to help you.
The Multi-Purpose Room
If you wish to book the Multi-Purpose Room, please email library@queens.ox.ac.uk no later than 5pm the day before you wish to book the room. MPR slots can be booked for up to three hours at a time. We do not permit block bookings for the MPR.
External readers
There is some capacity to accommodate external researchers. Please direct enquiries to library@queens.ox.ac.uk or (for the Archive) archive@queens.ox.ac.uk, and we will pleased to help where we can.
