Student facilities
Library Resources | Digital Resource Centre | Email Accounts | Office Space | Common Room | SAS Study Online (Virtual Learning Environment) |
Library Resources
The internationally renowned research libraries located in the Institutes together with the Senate House Library form the University of London Research Library Services [external site], a combined collection of almost 3 million volumes. Students in the School have full membership of the Senate House Library and access to any of the Institute-based libraries.
Students may also have access to other specialist London libraries that have close academic links with the School including the British Library, the University of London Institute in Paris, the Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Bibliographical Society.
Library Access Agreement: The following agreement enables current University of London Master's students to access nearly all of the libraries of the institutions which make up the federal University.
The value of this arrangement to University of London students is that
it offers you:
access to books and other library materials in subject areas that are often
unrivalled and which have been built over many years, and it places you
in a strong position vis a vis UK students outside the University of London,
who are not normally afforded this degree of access.
The national Sconul Access [external site] scheme also allows for access to and borrowing from other libraries, within and beyond the University of London under the terms described . If in doubt as to your eligibility, please enquire with your institutional library.
For more information, please visit http://www.london.ac.uk/libraries_agreement.html
Latin American/Caribbean Studies Collection
Senate House Library contains one of the major national research collections for Latin American Studies. It was originally formed as a designated centre of excellence in the field following the Report of the Parry Committee of the University Grants Committee on Latin American Studies in 1965. It now contains over 67,000 volumes and maintains subscriptions to a wide variety of journals.
The material in the collection is mainly in the fields of the humanities and social sciences, with particular emphasis on history, literature, politics, economics and anthropology. The geographical area covered includes all the countries of Central and South America, together with the islands of the Caribbean (including the English-, Dutch- and French-speaking communities), the islands of the South Atlantic (the Falklands/Malvinas and South Georgia), the Galapagos Islands, and the Antarctic territories administered by Chile and Argentina. From its inception the Collection was envisaged as filling the role of a regional and national resource for Latin American Studies. The policy has been to create a representative and balanced collection obtained from local suppliers or the original publishers: two thirds of the collection consists of Latin American and Caribbean imprints. The aim is to select material at research level fitting the role of a regional and national resource for the field. The languages of the collection are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English, the proportion of material acquired being roughly 30% English language to 70% foreign language texts. The collection is predominantly open access, and is now the largest open-access, separately-shelved research collection for Latin American Studies in the UK. Further Information
Most of the stock is available for loan, and although it is not Library
policy to obtain multiple copies, both loan and reference only copies of
certain key items are available.
United States Studies collection
The collection has been developed to foster the teaching and research needs
of the University of London as a whole, but it also served as the library
of the former Institute of United States Studies. This collection now serves
as the Library for the US programme of the Institute for the Study of the
Americas. Material from the Institute’s reading lists has been acquired
and made available on short loan. In addition copies of certain core readings
are available for reference both at Senate House Library. This is one of
the largest general collections on the United States in the country and
it is unique in keeping holdings in most subjects together. It provides
interdisciplinary coverage of the history, past and present institutions
and culture of the United States. The collection’s main strengths lie in
history, where the emphasis is on secondary materials, and in literature.
There is also good coverage of fine art, architecture, economics, film,
politics and religion, Native American and African American studies. There
are also small sections on the history of science, technology and medicine,
law and education. The library has benefited from grants to develop it’s
holdings to support the teaching programme of the Institute particularly
in the areas of foreign policy and international relations, economics and
sociology. American music, philosophy and geography (and maps) are also
collected but form part of those separate subject collections in the library.
There is a substantial section of reference material consisting of bibliographies,
archival guides, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, directories and biographical
dictionaries, but the major part of the collection is available for loan.
Further Information
Library orientation sessions are held at the start of the academic year,
and Master's students receive resource and methodological advice specific
to their dissertation topics.
Digital Resource Centre
Students will have access to the ULRLS Digital Resource Centre in Senate House Library. 50 workstations have been installed to create a Digital Resources Centre on the 4th floor in the Middlesex North reading room and the Periodicals reading room. Workstations are also located in the Special Collections reading room, ground floor. They provide access to:
- Library webpages, catalogues and databases provided by the libraries of the University of London Research Library Services (ULRLS)
- A choice of Internet browsers (Internet Explorer 7 or Mozilla
Firefox) - Networked information resources on CD
- An extensive range of multimedia software catering for audio, video and DVD (each workstation is equipped with headphones)
- Microsoft Office 2007 software
- Bibliographic management software
Other facilities available in the DRC includes: printing, photocopying, downloading and the use of laptops.
Email Accounts
All students will be provided with School of Advanced Study email addresses at registration. Academic and administrative staff will use these as the primary mode of contact in all instances.
Office Space (MPhil/PhD only)
Research degree students have access to working space in the PhD Student room in addition to the Digital Resources Centre. The room will have computer connections for e-mail and the Internet. MPhil/PhD students have access to other facilities such as telephone, fax and photocopying.
Common Room
The School's common room is situated on the 3rd floor of Senate House (South Block). A coffee machine is provided, and notice boards advertise events, accommodation and other items of interest.
The School and the Institutes outside Senate House have common rooms used by students, academics and research staff providing refreshment facilities and opportunities for informal meetings and conversation. They are located at:
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, basement, 17 Russell Square.
Institute of Historical Research, ground floor, North Block, Senate House (shared with the School).
The Warburg Institute, basement, Woburn Square.
Additionally, there is a small cafe selling fresh coffee, sandwiches, pastries and snacks in the North Block of Senate House.
SAS Study Online (Virtual Learning Environment)
The School of Advanced Study has a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) or Study Intranet, which is a dedicated area for students enabling them to access training resources and to interact with fellow students across the School. SAS Study Online will also be used to post information such as reading lists, past exam papers and notices. Students should use their SAS email account details to access the VLE. Students will need to enter their username and password, given at registration, in order to access the VLE/Study Online. https://studyonline.sas.ac.uk/login/index.php.