Our Libraries and Collections

Our libraries are a space for you in which to study and to learn. They are vibrant and busy places and can be daunting. Staff are available to help you find what information you are looking for and assist with our other services and facilities such as group study rooms, photocopying and IT.

We have a wide range of types of academic information in different formats.

Our libraries house a mass of printed materials and there is a very large online collection of academic material available too.

Most of our printed collection is available on shelves for you to visit, browse and select but there are some items held in various stores.

UCD has five libraries. Four are located on the UCD Belfield campus and one is located in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Blackrock. All UCD students and staff are welcome to access and borrow from any of our libraries.

• To access, if there is an entrance gate simply scan your student or staff card.
• You can gain entry if you forget your card. Please ask for a day access card at the Admissions Desk in the James Joyce Library or ask the loan desk staff elsewhere for help.
• You will also need your student/staff card to borrow books.

The Range of Information Formats

You may find it helpful to think about information for academic study in these three groupings:

Primary Information

Original material that has not been interpreted or analysed.

Examples: Statistics, Research articles, Blogs, Websites 

Secondary Material

Created from primary material, interpreting original material.

Examples: Textbooks, Review articles

Tertiary Material

Acts as a tool in understanding and locating information.

Examples: Databases, Subject Gateways, Dictionaries, Bibliographies

In more practical terms, here are some of the information types we have in the library:

• Books for students and advanced research works. There is our print collection and a growing collection of e-books.
• Journals, magazines and newspapers.
• Maps available in print and online.
• Other printed materials such as reports and pamphlets.
• Special Collections – rare and older printed items and manuscript and archive materials.
• DVDs and other multimedia and audio materials.
• Electronic resources, including e-journals and databases.

The Online Library Collection

Our online library collection can be accessed from anywhere in the world provided you have an internet connection.

This is a vast resource, and the new user may not be familiar with some types of online academic information such as e-journals and online databases, for which we pay a subscription and which are not freely available on the Web. 

• There are guides to help you.
• There are other pages providing more details on accessing the online library.
• There is help with getting full access to online resources when off campus.
• Most online resources can be accessed by members of UCD from any location. 

It is important to find out the correct paths to take to our online collection and master the main search interface for our online collection.

It is important that you follow the correct path to the online library, as you must be identified as a student or staff member of UCD in order to access the Library's full range of online resources while off campus.