Study spaces
The library has study desks on the ground and first floors, with additional lighting and sockets for device charging.
The first floor is a designated quiet study floor.
Computers
There is a computer cluster on the ground floor of the library, providing access to subscribed e-resources, the library catalogue, the internet and Microsoft Office packages. You will need your University of Birmingham username and password to log in. Visitors can sign up for temporary access, but will not be able to access e-resources.
WiFi
Wireless internet access is available throughout the library, for University staff, students and visitors.
Photocopying, printing and scanning
There is a combined printer, photocopier and scanner on the ground floor of the library, connected to the University's main managed print system. It can be used to print, photocopy and scan to University email addresses.
There is also a standalone scanner located on the ground floor in the computer cluster. Scans can be saved to a USB stick or emailed to any email address. The standalone scanner is suitable for external visitors who wish to scan books.
Copyright guidance
There are limits on how much you can print, photocopy or scan from any copyrighted resource.
Generally the following limits are considered "fair dealing" when copying for non-commercial research or non-commercial private study:
- Up to one complete chapter of a book
- Up to one whole article from a single issue of a serial publication or in a set of conference proceedings
- The entire report of a single case of judicial proceedings
- In the case of an anthology of short stories or poems, one short story or poem not exceeding 10 pages in length
- OR, no more than 5% is printed or scanned in total from any one volume
See our copyright pages for more information.
Audio-visual resources
Our audio-visual room on the ground floor has the following equipment available:
- Multi-region DVD / video players
- Microfilm / fiche readers with printing and scanning facilities
- A micro card reader
We also have:
- A collection of DVDs and CDs of Shakespeare's plays and reinterpretations as well as works of contemporary English Renaissance dramatists
- Portable DVD players available on request, which can be used on any laptop or PC
- A range of microfilm/fiche collections such as the English Short Title Catalogue 1475-1640 and Francis Longe Play collection
- Access to Box of Broadcasts (BoB), which allows University staff and students based in the UK to record programmes from over 75 free-to-air channels, as well as searching an archive of over 2.2 million broadcasts