News and updates

The Academic Liaison Librarians will be running information skills sessions throughout November to December of 2026.

Online:

• 03 November 2026, 18:00-19:00 Using AI tools for literature searching and finding journal articles (book your place)
• 11 November 2026, 18:00-19:00 Finding and using ebooks (book your place)
• 14 November 2026, 10:00-10:30 Finding and using books and e-books (book your place)
• 14 November 2026, 10:45-11:30 Finding journal articles (book your place)
• 14 November 2026, 11:45-12:30 Introduction to referencing (book your place)
• 17 November 2026, 16:00-17:00 Postgraduate research student library skills: Data management plans for PGRS (book your place)
• 26 November 2026, 18:00-18:30 An introduction to using Senate House Library (book your place)
• 1 December 2026, 14:00-15:30 Literature searching for postgraduate research students (book your place)

Birkbeck students and staff can also book a one-to-one support session with their Academic Liaison Librarian for researching your topic, finding appropriate resources, accessing material for your studies/research, and referencing. For further details and to book, go to the Academic Liaison Librarians page to book an online appointment or request an in-person appointment.

Are you interested in virtual reality, 360 cameras, 3D scanners and everything else the Immersive Learning Centre can offer you and your studies? Our weekly drop-ins at the ILC on the first floor of the library on Tuesdays during term time is the place to go to talk through possibilities, get some guidance on using the digital equipment you can borrow from the library, discuss ideas or just have a go; each week we will have different things to try out. We have a range of experiences, 360 videos and training software you can try out.

In person (Birkbeck Main Building) Where: Malet St. 111b – ILC Studio (library first floor):

• 04 November 2026, 16:00-17:30 ILC Open Session: How the Immersive Learning Centre can help you with your studies (book your place)
• 11 November 2026, 16:00-17:30 ILC Open Session: How the Immersive Learning Centre can help you with your studies (book your place)
• 11 November 2026, 18:00-20:00 ILC Workshop: Introduction to Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing (book your place)
• 17 November 2026, 16:00-17:30 ILC Open Session: How the Immersive Learning Centre can help you with your studies (book your place)
• 24 November 2026, 16:00-17:30 ILC Open Session: How the Immersive Learning Centre can help you with your studies (book your place)
• 30 November 2026, 12:00-13:30 ILC Open Session: How the Immersive Learning Centre can help you with your studies (book your place)
• 08 December 2026, 17:00-18:30 ILC Open Session: How the Immersive Learning Centre can help you with your studies (book your place)

When: 10 November 2026, 16:00 — 17:30
Venue: Online Book your place

Birkbeck Library is a key resource for postgraduate researchers. You are invited to attend this online session on library support for researchers (MRes, MPhil, PhD), which will provide you with valuable information on how to submit your final, post-examination thesis to our institutional repository, BIROn, as well as open access options for research publications. We will also examine impact metrics for publications. There will be opportunities for questions and discussion.

Aims and objectives
This session is aimed at those close to submitting their thesis, and will:

• Provide information on adding your thesis to Birkbeck Institutional Research Online (BIROn).
• Outline the College's Open Research Policy, and explore options for how to meet its requirements.
• Consider approaches to measuring research impact.
• Introduce options for creating a researcher profile online.

The session will be facilitated by: Paul Rigg, Senior Assistant Librarian (Repositories & Digital Media Management).

• When: Tuesday 6th October 16.00 - 17.30 (in-person). Book for the session
• Where: Malet St. 111b – ILC Studio (library first floor)

Are you interested in virtual reality, 360 cameras, 3D scanners and everything else the Immersive Learning Centre can offer you and your studies? The weekly drop-ins at the ILC on the first floor of the library on Tuesdays during term time is the place to go to talk through possibilities, get some guidance on using the digital equipment you can borrow from the library, discuss ideas or just have a go; each week we will have different things to try out. We have a range of experiences, 360 videos and training software you can try out. Book at the above link or drop in on the day.

Kortext will be performing an update on 29th October 2026 at 11:00pm.

You may not be able to login or use the services at this time.

The update is expected to finish on 30th October 2026 at 3:00am.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Currently it is not possible to access any of our VLe books.

The provider is working to resolve this issue and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

This news items will be updated once we have confirmation that the issue has been resolved.

UPDATE at 11:46 - The issue has been resolved, users may need to clear their cache.

There is currently an issue with OpenAthens authentication, this is a national outage, as a result you will not be able to access any of our digital and information resources that use this means of authentication. An issue has occurred with Google Cloud (see BBC news) where Open Athens is hosted and this is impacting Open Athens services.

Google Cloud is working to resolve the issue as a matter of urgency.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

UPDATE 20/10/26 13:17 - The issue has been resolved.

The library catalogue will be unavailable on 28 October from 8pm to 11pm while a scheduled upgrade takes place.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

A scheduled maintenance of the library catalogue will take place on Wednesday 16 September from 11pm, for one hour.

During this time the catalogue will not be available.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you need a laptop for the day, you will now be able to borrow one from the laptop loan cabinet located on the ground floor of the library. The laptop loan service will be open next week from the 8 September.

Staff at the Helpdesk can assist you if you have any questions about the service.

Laptops and chargers must be returned by the close of the library at 11.45pm.

From the 2 September to download any eBook from ProQuest you will need to install the Ebook Central Reader App.

The Ebook Central Reader App replaces Adobe Digital Editions (ADE); ADE will no longer be supported for ProQuest Ebooks.

• The APP can be installed across six devices and involves putting in a code generated from ProQuest once the app is installed on your device.
• Any active loans will sync to the new app.
• The Ebook Central Reader App will be deployed on all Birkbeck desktops and in the College Portal on the 1 September 2026.
• Students will need to install the app on their own device(s).
• Guidance on how to install and use the app can be found in our Ebook LibGuide.

Maintenance will be undertaken on the network infrastructure of our library catalogue environment from 11pm 25 August to 4am 26 August. During this time the catalogue, CloudSource and CloudSource Plus will not be available.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Academic Services Librarians and the Library Disability and Dyslexia Service will be running information skills sessions throughout September to October of 2026, as part of the “Get Ready” series of events.

Online:

• 09 September 2026, 17:00-17:30 Get ready: Finding and using books and ebooks (book your place)
• 14 September 2026, 12:00-12:45 Get ready: Introduction to online mind-mapping with MindManager (book your place)
• 14 September 2026, 17:00-17:30 Get ready: Finding journal articles (book your place)
• 21 September 2026, 17:00-17:30 Get ready: Finding and using books and ebooks (book your place)
• 22 September 2026, 17:00-17:30 Get ready: Finding journal articles (book your place)
• 22 September 2026, 18:00-19:00 Get ready: Evaluating sources workshop (book your place)
• 22 September 2026, 18:00-18:45 Get ready: Introduction to online mind-mapping with MindManager (book your place)
• 12 October 2026, 17:00-17:30 Get ready: Finding and using books and ebooks (book your place)
• 14 October 2026, 17:00-17:30 Get ready: Finding journal articles (book your place)

In person:

• 28 September - 15 October 2026, 17:15-17:35 Get ready: Get to know your library tour (book your place)

You can also have a look at the online ThingLink Library tour to get familiar with the layout of the library, before you visit it.

From Friday 31 July Study Support Room bookings will be made through LibCal.

Students will continue to be able to book up to three hours per day, and should check-in within 15 minutes of arrival. Booking links will be available via the Library Disability webpage; details of how to check-in will be emailed with every booking.

For further information contact the Library Disability And Dyslexia Support service.