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Undergraduate Distance Learner

As a distance learning undergraduate at the Glasgow School of Art, you are eligible to use the following access schemes and libraries. If the library you wish to access does not participate in any of the schemes listed here, your Subject Librarian will be happy to provide you with a letter of introduction or to assist you in any way. Visit our support pages to find out how we can support you in your studies.

SCONUL Access

The SCONUL Access scheme is open to all undergraduate distance learners. It allows you to borrow from most of the UK’s Higher Education libraries. Please note that the scheme does not provide access to ICT facilities or library online resources.

To obtain a SCONUL Access card, print out and complete the application form below and bring it in to the GSA Library Service Desk for us to validate. Alternatively, simply pick a form up from the GSA Library Service Desk. Once your SCONUL Access card is issued, take it to the libraries you want to visit along with your GSA matriculation card.

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama

You can use your SCONUL Access card to gain borrowing access to the nearby RSAMD Library, which contains one of the most comprehensive collections of performance materials for music and drama in the UK and internationally.

University of Glasgow Library

You can use your SCONUL Access card to gain borrowing access to Glasgow University Library.

arrow icon Glasgow University Library Website

Alliance Francaise Library

All GSA staff and students have borrowing access to over 9,000 French-language books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and videos in the Alliance Francaise Library in Glasgow. Simply take your GSA matriculation card along to the Library.

arrow icon Alliance Francaise Library Website

Goethe Institut Library

All GSA staff and students have borrowing access to German-language books, reference works, CD-ROMs, magazines, audio books, videos and DVDs in the Goethe Institut Library in Glasgow. Simply take your GSA matriculation card along to the Library.

arrow icon Goethe Institut Library Website

Glasgow Public Libraries

Anyone who lives, works or studies in Glasgow can join Glasgow Public Libraries. Click below for information on how to join.

arrow icon How to Join Glasgow Public Libraries

Membership of Glasgow public libraries also gets you access to their online resources. You can access these resources from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Resources include KnowUK, NewsUK, Credo Reference, COBRA (Complete Business Reference Adviser), Encyclopedia Britannica, KOMPASS, and Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

arrow icon Glasgow Public Libraries Online Resources

Mitchell Library

The nearby Mitchell Library is the largest public reference in Europe, with a selection of material available for loan with a Glasgow Public Libraries membership card. The Mitchell collections are particularly strong in material on Glasgow, and it holds large back-runs of newspapers.

National Library of Scotland

The National Library of Scotland, based in Edinburgh, is Scotland's legal deposit library. This means that it can claim a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It also collects foreign material widely, along with rare books, manuscripts, maps, journals and other materials. It is Scotland's premier research library, and the world's leading repository for the printed and manuscript record of Scotland's history and culture.

The National Library of Scotland is open to those requiring access to material not readily available elsewhere.