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Course Collections: Course Collections Guide

The Course Collections contain stock in high demand such as course books, articles and lecture notes. Many items are now available online.

Borrowing

Three items from our physical stock may be borrowed from the course collections at any one time. 

Where available, course collection items can be borrowed using self-issue.

From the start of term in September items will be issued for seven days.

Can I renew course collection items?

Sorry, you cannot extend the loan of a course collection item.

You must return all course collection items to the library they belong to. Providing no-one has placed a reservation on the item, you may be able to borrow the item again.

Remember, you cannot renew these items via Library Search or by phone.

Returning

All course collection items must be returned to the library from where they were borrowed.

If you need to return course collection items when the Library is closed there is a returns facility outside the entrance to each library. Please do not return books here when the Library is open.

What if I return a course collection item late?

Course collection material is in high demand. The Library and your course colleagues require you to return all items on time.

If you do not return course collection items on time your Library record will be blocked for one week. This means you will be prevented from borrowing any material from any library. If the item remains overdue you'll be invoiced for the replacement costs.

What is a course collection?

Course collections contain stock in high demand, typically reading list material, and in a variety of formats, physical and digital.

Many items are available online, accessed via WebCat (for online stock you must login with your User Name & Password). This means our online course collections are available to you anytime, anywhere; helping you study as and when you wish.

How do I find and use course collection stock?

Use WebCat:

  • WebCat enables you to search for items for a specific course or lecturer, using either the course code/name, or the lecturer's name.
  • all course collection items can also be found using Library Search.

To view all items for a specific unit / course you should:

  • login to WebCat with your  User Name & Password
  • Select Course Collections from the first drop down box
  • Select Course Name, Course Code or Course Lecturer from the second drop down box
  • Type your search item into the search box, for example HIST1089
  • This will produce a listing of related courses
  • Choose the course, for example HIST1089 Histories of Empire

Course Collection contacts

Hartley Library Health Services Library

Library & Learning Commons, Avenue

National Oceanographic Library

Winchester School of Art Library

VPN - Off Campus advice

Accessing library resources from home 

To connect to library resources such as databases and journals you will need to use the University’s VPN service called GlobalProtect. Advice on how to set your connection up can be found on the iSolutions page How do I set up VPN on my device? 

If you use VPN on a Linux machine or mobile device, from June 17th 2020 you will need to reconfigure your device to point to 'globalprotect2.soton.ac.uk'. If you use a Windows PC or Mac you should continue to use 'globalprotect.soton.ac.uk'.