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Library

Resources and support for students at validation partner institutions

Find out how you can access resources and support as a student studying at a partner institution validated by York St John University.

Welcome to the library

This page is for students studying at a partner institution on a programme of study validated by York St John University.

Important: if you are studying a validated course, you are a student of your home institution. Your access to York St John Library services is limited, and you will not have access to online library subscription resources.

York St John University works with partner institutions to support the provision of appropriate learning resources for validated programmes, and our partnerships are an important part of how we extend access to higher education and support student success in a range of settings.

If you are registered as a York St John University student studying at one of our franchise partner institutions, please visit our page outlining the resources available to you.

 

A student reading a book near shelves in the library.

Your library access

  • You are a student of your home institution
  • Your access to library resources is provided by your home institution’s library
  • You do not have access to York St John’s online library resources, including ebooks, journals and databases
  • York St John provides a list of open access electronic resources and study support resources you can access.
  • If you are based locally in York, you can apply for access to use the Fountains Learning Centre for study and print book access (subject to registration).

Validated courses are designed so that students can access the resources they need through their home institution’s library services.

Your home institution library

Your home institution library is your main source of academic support.

You will use it to:

  • Access your reading lists
  • Find books, journals and online resources
  • Get help from library staff
  • Use study spaces and IT facilities

Contact your home library first for help with your course materials or finding resources.

We work with partner libraries to support access to, and development of, appropriate academic resources and services for your validated programme.

Getting your course materials

To access your reading list:

  • Use your home institution’s library systems
  • Request items through your home library
  • Speak to your tutors or library staff at your home institution if something is not available

They can help you find alternative materials or additional support.

Using York St John library resources

Online resources

You will not have access to York St John’s subscription resources, including:

  • Databases
  • Electronic journals
  • Ebooks

These resources are restricted to York St John students and staff because of publisher licence agreements.

Open Access resources

You can use a wide range of open access resources to support your studies.

We provide guidance on using open access materials to complement the resources available through your partner institution:

Open-access Specialist Subject Resources

Use the subject filter to refine to your area of interest.

Tools to help you find open access materials:

  • Unpaywall
    A browser extension providing free and legal access to millions of scholarly articles.
  • Open Access Button
    Free research articles, delivered instantly or automatically requested from authors.

Tip: You can search UK university research repositories using Google by adding site:ac.uk to your search (for example, formative assessment primary schools site:ac.uk).

 

York St John University Fountains Learning Centre.

The Fountains Learning Centre in York

If you live or study locally in York, you can apply to:

  • Visit the library for study
  • Use print materials in the building

Please note:

  • Borrowing is limited and requires registration
  • Access is subject to availability

If you are not based locally, you should use your home institution library.

 

Support for your learning

Your home institution will provide support to help you develop your study skills.

For support, contact:

  • Your home institution library
  • Your tutors or academic staff

Our Library, Study and Digital Skills resources are self-guided resources which are available as an additional resource to help you with your study skills. These are in addition to the support provided by your home institution.

Whether you're at the start of your journey with York St John or you're looking to develop your research and writing skills, maths skills, digital or assistive technology skills, our Library, Study and Digital Skills self-help resources are here for you.

Study Skills help

Referencing skills help

Free referencing tools

Please note: our self-development resources refer to tutorials and workshops available from the library. This is only available to York St John University registered students at our York or London Campuses — study skills support is provided by the teaching and support staff at your home institution.

Other ways to find resources

You may also find useful materials through:

  • Open access collections
  • Public libraries
  • The British Library
A library staff member assisting a student.

Need help?

  • Contact your home institution library for support with your studies
  • For queries about access to the York St John University library building:
    library@yorksj.ac.uk

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