Go to Visit a Library

"Visit a library" is an online guide to help you prepare for visiting M25 member libraries.

The details below give guidance on how to visit M25 libraries depending on whether you are a student, staff, researcher or member of the public. You are strongly advised to look at the website or telephone the library you wish to use before visiting to check for any local conditions which may affect your visit.

Academic Staff and Researchers

Academic Staff and Researchers are encouraged to use the national access and borrowing scheme SCONUL Access to visit or join M25 Consortium libraries and a list of libraries participating in SCONUL Access is available from SCONUL. With a single card, academic staff and research students can register to borrow from over 125 University library services. For further details on how to join, go to the SCONUL website . Most M25 libraries are participating in SCONUL Access.

If you are a member of staff or a researcher from the M25 institutions listed below, you are not eligible to use the SCONUL Access scheme but you can join the M25 Access and Borrowing Scheme. Full details about the scheme and how to join are available on the M25 scheme web page.

British Library
British Museum
Horniman Museum
Imperial War Museum
Institute of Development Studies
Natural History Museum
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Society of Chemistry
Science Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Wiener Library Institute of Contemporary History
Wellcome Library

If you are based in an M25 Consortium member institution and would like to visit one of the libraries listed above, please use the list of M25 member libraries to check the website of your chosen library for admissions information.

If you are based in an M25 Consortium member institution and would like to visit a library in the M25 Consortium which is not participating in either SCONUL Access or the M25 Scheme, please use the list of M25 member libraries to check the website of your chosen library for admissions information.

Other Staff and Students

We recommend that you join SCONUL Access. Please check the UK SCONUL Access website to see if your library is in the scheme and how to join.

Local Access Arrangements

Some M25 libraries also have local arrangements with neighbouring institutions. For full details of these local access arrangements, you may like to try our 'Visit a Library' service.

Members of the Public, Commercial Researchers, Further Education and Non-UK Visitors

Members of the public who have a London borough public library card may use the Inspire London Scheme to visit most M25 libraries. Visits using the Scheme must be arranged through any of the London public libraries.

Members of the public from outside the London boroughs, commercial researchers, further education and non-UK visitors are advised to check the Visit a library online guide or individual library websites to see whether they can visit M25 libraries.

If you have any queries or difficulties about using any of these schemes, please consult staff at your local library.