Library Chat 

 will be available 24/7 during the vacation period. It will be staffed by third-party partner institutions. 

The John Rylands Research Institute and Library 

 will be closed from Sunday, 22 December 2024 until Thursday, 2 January 2025.

The latest additions bring the number of our productions from over a decade of 'NT Live' broadcasts now available to 70. These include popular recent successes like:

• by Nicholas Hytner
• Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo in
• Michael Sheen in

91ֱ�� connections

The streamed performances also feature productions with notable local connections, such as:

• Alumnus Benedict Cumberbatch alternating the roles of creator and creature in (National Theatre Collections)
• (Professor) Maxine Peake as Hamlet from the city’s Royal Exchange in

Access the productions

Explore all titles via Library Search, including additional productions offered through the Royal Shakespeare Company’s and .

More details can be found on the .

No expensive tickets, travel costs, or audience distractions—enjoy the show.

These magazines hold significant historical value, having shaped culture, lifestyle, and current events over the years. 

Renowned for their high-quality photography, impeccable production, and trend-setting design and editorial styles, many became influential in their respective fields. 

They also served as platforms for prominent writers, photographers, and artists, contributing to the formation of public opinion and capturing the societal shifts of their time.

How to access the collection

Accessible on , their consolidation on EBSCO, through which researchers already have access to the archives, provides an even greater benefit, allowing users to trace the coverage of specific issues over time. 

Researchers can now easily compare and contrast how different publications from the American popular press addressed the same social and political topics, offering a more nuanced view of historical narratives and public discourse.

Items in the collection

The seven new collections comprise:

• (1857 - 2014): Researchers can access primary source material on alternative journalism, addressing activism, the arts, economy, environment and politics.
• (1945 - 2014): The most influential African American general interest magazine, articles cover African American culture, business, Civil rights, and entertainment.
• (1933 - 2014): Valuable to researchers looking at 20th-Century current events, gender issues, politics and advertising, Esquire also published work by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, fostered the development of the ‘New Journalism’ in the 1960s, and provided early support for the ‘dirty realism’ literary movement of the 1980s.
• (1936 - 2000): This iconic US magazine chronicled the major events of the 20th century and largely defined photojournalism. 
• (1954 - 2000): These archives chronicle the evolving role of sports in US culture, from polo and boating to American football and basketball.
• (1865 - 2020): America’s oldest weekly magazine was sponsored by Emerson, Longfellow, and Beecher Stowe, its roots stretching back to the Abolitionist movement.
• (1919-1936; 1983-2000): Access has been extended to the publication's literary interwar years. The magazine’s later years are valuable to researchers in fashion and marketing, as well as complementing our existing and archives on the

These collections are highlighted on relevant for American Studies, Fashion Business and Technology; History; Sociology; and English Literature and Creative Writing.

Develop your digital communications skills and explore the online world with 'Digital Society', the UCIL course unit run by the Library. 

91ֱ��ing entirely online, you’ll explore the relationship between digital technology, society, and you, from the connectedness of our lives and the machines around us, to how we communicate with each other.

Topics covered

'Digital Society' includes exciting topics like:

• The Internet: How have key developments in the history of the internet made us more connected to information, and each other?
• Digital Engagement: What is digital engagement, who do we engage with, and how is it recorded?
• AI, ethics and us: How does the rise of AI affect us and our lives in the digital society?
• The Internet of Things: What is it and what does it mean for you?
• Critical analysis in a digital world: Why is critical analysis important in the digital society and how can you develop your critical skills?
• Reflecting on your employability for a digital future: How do changing skills/society affect your future employability?

Digital Society runs in Semester 2 and is worth 10 credits. The course start date is 27 January 2025, and registration is open until 10 February 2025.

Find out more and sign up

To find out more and sign up, visit the UCIL website:

You can also read more about the course topics and delivery on the .

Unfunded monograph authors from any University faculty can enter the Library’s Open Access (OA) monograph competition 2024/25, as long as they will soon be publishing a monograph or published one on or after 1 October 2023. 

Winners will receive funding from the Library to make their monographs OA. The Library will arrange this directly with the winners’ publishers.  

How to enter  

To enter, please provide a short response to the following questions:  

• What is the expected reach of your monograph?  
• What are the benefits of your book being OA for your intended audience, and The University of Manchester?  
• How does your monograph contribute to research in your field?  
• Given limited resources, are there any other reasons to fund OA for your monograph that we should take into account?  

Please submit your answers through this by Friday, 31 January 2025.  

We would particularly welcome entries from authors publishing with fully open access book publishers.  

After the closing date, entries will be judged by a representative panel led by Professor James Evans, Associate Dean for Research in Humanities. Go to for details of the winners from last year’s competition.  

The Library’s Open Access Team will contact successful applicants in early April 2025. 

If you have a question about the competition, please contact libraryresearch@manchester.ac.uk

• access workshops and online resources for revision, exam and assessment support;
• speak to Library staff via our Library drop-in support;
• get wellbeing support by accessing helpful resources and workshops via the Counselling and Student Service.

To find out more about how the Library can help you, visit our exam and assessment support page: 

It’s a chance for you to have your say and tell us about your experience of using the Library. Your feedback is important as it helps us improve our facilities and services. 

Take our short  

In return for your feedback, you’ll be in with a chance of winning one of three £100 Amazon vouchers. Prize draws will take place on Tuesday, 12 November, Tuesday, 19 November and Tuesday, 26 November. All completed surveys will be entered in each prize draw so the earlier you complete the survey, the more chance you have of winning. 

The survey closes on 25 November.

In this exhibition, you will find objects relating to some of the spaces and places that our students have inhabited over the past 200 years. 

The items in the exhibition are drawn from across the Library’s Special Collections, in particular The University of Manchester Archives and the Map Collection. They provide insights into the development of our University campus, of different attitudes towards race and gender, and of new ways of student living. They contain stories of innovation, struggle, connection, protest and belonging expressed by our University community. Together, they form an important part of the story of Manchester’s changing cultural and physical landscape. 

You are Here! runs from 30 October to February 2025, at Blue Ground in Main Library. Free entry. 

This interactive guide will support students in understanding what is meant by Academic Integrity and how it interacts with their studies. 

Students will find advice and resources on how to clearly present their own understanding of concepts, consider tools and strategies (including those involving Generative Artificial Intelligence) and examine how to avoid key forms of academic malpractice.

Commissioned by The University of Manchester’s Teaching and Learning Strategy Group (TLSG), the creation of this guide ran as a cross-university project which involved the Library’s Teaching, Learning and Students Team consulting with staff from across the University to ensure it reflected the needs of students and staff at our institution.

Find out more

Our science collections have been supplemented by the addition of the Royal Society Journals Archive, collection, further CABI Digital Library collections and health journal backfiles from Elsevier. These resources will significantly improve the consistency of access to high-quality research materials for our researchers.

New content has been added to our collections and ensuring these key arts resources remain current. We are also pleased to introduce new collections supporting the University’s commitment to social responsibility: the wide-ranging and the .

In our Special Collections, exciting new additions include the 20th century Alick E. Glennie Archive (Computing) and material to help re-unite a 13th century illuminated manuscript on vellum ('Three Historiated Initials from the Psalter of Joan of Navarre'). The contrast in age and physical format of these purchases further highlights the historical range and breadth of resources at the Rylands.

Further information will be available soon. In the meantime, you can explore our collections via and . 

A joint project with ProQuest has recently been completed, digitising over 22,000 University of Manchester and former UMIST doctoral theses. The vast collection forms a valuable body of doctoral research, covering a broad range of subjects, with an emphasis on medicine, materials science, chemistry and engineering. 

Six year digitisation project

This was a complex project, taking over six years to complete, that involved several teams from across the Library and external providers.

Doctoral theses were not being utilised to their full potential as valuable research resources. However, through full-text digitisation and improved metadata and indexing, we have brought together the University’s entire collection of doctoral theses to be discoverable and accessible via and external databases including and . Researchers worldwide can now access this content instantly. Previously, the collection was only available for reference and limited to those who could visit the Library or could pay a one-time digitisation fee.

Access the theses

Full-text access to high quality OCR’d downloadable PDFs can be found via or through the database. 

The Library subject guides have been redeveloped for the new academic year and are a perfect place to start exploring what is on offer from the Library with regards to your subject. 

Use the guides to find relevant books, journals and databases as well as unique items from our Special Collections. You can also find relevant online learning resources and details of upcoming workshops.

Be sure to bookmark your subject guide for up-to-date information on new and existing resources. 

• Visit the to browse the range of Library Subject Guides on offer.

• My Learning Essentials: Our flagship skills programme, aimed at all levels, provides a selection of workshops and online training resources to support your academic skills, study strategies and wellbeing.
• My Research Essentials: Designed to support researchers at all stages, our researcher programme provides workshops and online resources focused on raising your research profile, dissemination of research, open research, publishing insights and dedicated writing time.  
• Specialist Library Support: Access expert support in specialist areas such as copyright, referencing, advanced searching, systematic reviews and business data.  

Got a question? Come along to our regular drop-in support sessions. Our friendly Library experts are on hand to guide you on any aspects of using our resources and services.

Roving service

The Library's Roving Service will run from Monday, the 16th September 2024, to Friday, the 31st January 2025. Our Customer Services Team and Library Student Team will be available at the Main Library and AGLC floors from Monday to Friday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to assist with any questions you may have about the Library.

For details of all our training and support please visit the Library website:

Contact us or speak directly to a member of the Library team via Library Chat:

Embedding Training and Support in your Programme 

The Library can work with staff to embed training and support within your programme. For further information and to request support see: 

For further help on Library support for your teaching and/or research contact your dedicated .

On 24 September 2024, the Main Library hosted a ceremony for representatives of the , following their generous donation of the English and Mandarin language versions of their .

About the ceremony

The Fo Guang Shan party, which included Venerable members of the Stretford-based temple, and the 91ֱ�� Chapter President of the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA), alongside PhD student, Jiyao Sun, were received by Deputy University Librarian and Associate Director: Education, Experience and Strategic Insights, Katy Woolfenden.

Joining Katy in the ceremony were Collection Care Manager, Elisabeth Carr; Engagement Librarian, Ruili Zhang and Dr Gregory Scott, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies.

Following introductions, a series of short talks was given by both parties. The formal aspect of the ceremony concluded with photographs, leaving time for refreshments and a lively discussion. The Library has since received very positive feedback from the temple, with a further visit to the John Rylands Research Institute and Library already proposed.

Celebrating a new cross-team collaboration

Not only was the event an enjoyable celebration of a new relationship with the local community, but it also represented a successful cross-team and directorate collaboration between Collection Development and Management, Stock Operations, Executive Office, and Engagement, with continued support from Chinese Studies and invaluable advice from Collections Care and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Centre.

Our Library is an importance place for everyone at the University. You can help us keep it clean and free of pests by doing a few simple things:

• Please tidy up and take any litter with you when you leave your study area.
• Only eat cold food in the Library. Hot food is only in the Cosy Campus spaces in Main Library and AGLC.
• Use containers with lids for your food and remember to clean up any leftovers when you're finished.
• Make sure to use the food waste bins in the Cosy Campus kitchens. Please don't throw food waste in the General Waste or recycling bins in the study areas and kitchens.

To keep our study areas tidy, from Tuesday, 1 October, any food left on desks will be removed by staff.

Thank you for your help and understanding!

This provides information on:

• how to access our books, journals and databases to help with your studies;
• our free training workshops designed to help you build the personal and academic skills you need to succeed;
• the study spaces available to you on campus;
• how to set up your IT account.

Make sure you also check out our so you can join tours and information sessions. 

If you have any questions, you can visit any of our Library sites and chat to our friendly staff about how the Library can support you.

• A new Cosy Campus space at the entrance, featuring a kitchenette with four microwaves and a dedicated seating area.
• A deep clean of existing furniture and replacement of older furniture.
• Upgraded hardware, including desktop PCs, new printers and audio-visual facilities in group study rooms.
• Upgraded software applications on PCs and loanable laptops.
• A dedicated service for all student enquiries including access, digital support and appointments.

Library staff are available to assist and support students.

is a collaborative effort involving the Office for Open Research, the School of Engineering Open Research Lead, representatives from the United Kingdom Reproducibility Network (UKRN), and Cancer Research UK 91ֱ�� Institute, with the aim of promoting and facilitating open research initiatives and practices within The University of Manchester.

Open Research Kick-Off 2024/25

Join us at the Core Technology Facility on Monday, 28 October 2024, at 9.30am for the launch of our 2024/25 programme.

The event will open with a joint welcome address from our new President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Ivison, alongside our Vice-President for Research, Professor Colette Fagan. Following this, there will be an update on open research initiatives at the University, including valuable insights from our .

2024/25 Opening up Research events

The Open Research Kick-Off is just the beginning of an engaging series of for the 2024/25 academic year, culminating in the . This year’s events programme is closely aligned with the , which provides essential guidance on fostering openness throughout the research lifecycle. Opening up Research events are open to all University staff, including professional services staff, postgraduate researchers, and early career researchers.

Get involved

If you're interested in presenting your work at one of the events, or if you have any queries, please reach out to the team at: openresearch@manchester.ac.uk.

You can also subscribe to our to stay updated with the latest developments in open research at the University and beyond.

Commenting on this year’s competition, Neil Humphrey said: “This year we received a record-breaking number of entries to the competition, with submissions reflecting the excellent quality of research from Schools across the University. As ever, it was extremely difficult to make a selection, however, judges felt that the winning titles showcase research that would benefit the most from being Open Access and available to all.” 

The titles below will be published Open Access with costs covered by the University Open Access Fund.

Following additional support from the Faculty of Humanities, the Library was able to arrange Open Access for a further 10 books from the competition, listed below.

The Open Access monograph competition is made possible through collaboration between the Library's Research Services and Engagement Teams and staff from various Schools across the University. 

Congratulations to all winning entrants to the competition. 

The exhibition, opening in Spring 2025, will showcase rare materials from the archive alongside connected materials from the Rylands world-leading special collections. 

The Secret Public will be the inaugural exhibition in the newly refurbished Special Exhibition gallery, part of the project, a major redevelopment and improvement programme that will enrich and transform the researcher and visitor experience. 

How Special Collections can help

The University of Manchester Library’s world-renowned Special Collections span five millennia and cover topics from Gilgamesh to Ginsberg. The collections are a unique resource of rare books, pamphlets, manuscripts, maps, archives, oral history, art works, and objects that lend themselves to research and learning across the spectrum of subjects.

Whatever you are looking for, we now have a wealth of curated resources freely available in  including:

• History of the book
• Letters and correspondence from influential figures
• Literature and literary archives
• Maps
• Material culture from 91ֱ�� Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery
• Medical collections
• Medieval manuscripts
• Photographs
• Social and political history
• Street literature

We also have a wide range of digital material from previous projects on the .

Curated Special Collections Teaching Resources

Our Medium pages host a series of interdisciplinary digital resources suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. These  offer curated collections of primary source materials, for both tutors designing and delivering teaching and learning, and students looking for a dissertation topic.

For example, ‘ tells the story of the city from its industrial past through to its multi-cultural present, richly documented by the collections held in the University of Manchester Library. Other themes included are:

Digitised Resources held at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre

The  holds archive collections relating to race and ethnicity, racism, race relations, and the histories and experiences of Black, Asian, global majority, refugee and migrant communities.

As a contemporary archive with many living donors, some of the archive records within their collections have restricted permissions and are not suitable for open digital access (though are often available for research purposes). This means they currently have only selected highlights of records for general digital access. 

• Extracts from some of the  can be listened to online via SoundCloud
• via JSTOR
• Online publications that relate to the archive collections can be searched on the 
• that reflect their community engagement work can be viewed via the website
• Collections-level archive catalogues can also be accessed online via . 

In addition, Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre staff can often make records available for teaching and learning.Please contact them on rrarchive@manchester.ac.uk to discuss how they can support you.

Support for tutors using digitised Special Collections

Please email  if you would like to find out more about how we can work with you to embed primary sources into the classroom experience.

Find out more

You can also find more information on Teaching and Learning with Special Collections at the University of Manchester here:

For general enquiries, please email: uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk

The Office for Open Research is pleased to announce our five newly appointed as part of the at The University of Manchester.

What is the Open Research Fellowship Programme?

This initiative seeks to champion open and reproducible research practices, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive community at The University of Manchester. The programme offers financial support, covering salary costs for one day a week for up to 12 months, allowing fellows to focus on open research projects.

Objectives and benefits

The Fellowship Programme aims to cultivate a new generation of open research leaders at the university. Fellows become part of a network of advocates, promoting open research within their departments and fostering a community of practice. They also contribute to the development of high-quality training and provide expert input to the .

Introducing the 2024/2025 Open Research Fellows and their projects

• Matthew Parkes, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health: "Towards ‘Better Coding Practice’: Improving Transparency & Reproducibility in Clinical Trial Analytical Code using Open Science Principles”.
• Ellen Poliakoff, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health: "Sharing principles of transparent and responsible research with patients and the public: coproduced resources and training".
• Murilo Marinho, Faculty of Science and Engineering: "Open Executable Books in Robotics".
• Hannah Long, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health: "Developing a Data Note guide for qualitative research datasets (D’NOTE)".
• Georgia Vesma, Faculty of Humanities: "Boundless Opportunities: tools for open cross-disciplinary collaboration"

For further information, please visit the , where we will be posting updates as work progresses.

If you have any questions or are interested in applying for the next cohort of fellows, please email us at openresearch@manchester.ac.uk.

During the period 1 July to 7 July 2024 inclusive and 26 August – 1 September 2024 inclusive, PGRs will not be able to submit any version of their thesis.

Emails have been sent to PGRs and relevant colleagues with further information.

If you have any concerns, please contact your .

Access via Global Protect

From 8 July 2024 up to and including 25 August 2024, if accessing eThesis from a personal device you will be required to have downloaded Global Protect first.

Find out more

Further information and guidance can be found here:

When you have a paper accepted for publication you can use the  to submit your Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) to the Library for deposit to Pure. The Library will ensure that your paper meets the  for the next REF by verifying the manuscript version, checking applicable journal and funder policies and arranging Green OA. You can also use the OA Gateway to apply for Gold OA funding.

About the Open Research Tracker

The  is a platform designed to record open research activity at The University of Manchester. It provides you with a list of your Pure deposited papers from 2023 onwards and includes information on whether we currently consider them to be REF compliant. It now also hosts the OA Gateway.

Access to the  is still available through the Library website.

Find out more

Any questions, please contact the Library’s Research Services Team.

• Choose from a selection of workshops including academic writing, revision and preparation, reference management, searching systematically, information analysis for literature reviews, managing the challenges of research and writing retreats 
• Consult our online training resources and guidance including  
• Speak to a member of staff directly via our regular  

For details of all our training and support please visit the Library website: 

Contact us or speak directly to a member of the Library team via Library Chat:  

Please be aware the Library has different opening hours during the summer and some of our sites will be closed: 

From June 2024, members of the public can access the Library as community members free of charge. This membership replaces the paid external membership, and allows access to:  

1. 91ֱ�� Spaces at Main Library, with the exception of Group 91ֱ�� Rooms; 

2. Borrowing Rights of up to four standard loan books at a time; 

3. On-Site e-Resources using dedicated PCs on Blue Ground to access a wide range of electronic resources, including scholarly journals and databases. 

4. Off-site , as part of the Library’s commitment to the process of making as many resources available as possible (Open Access) for all Library members.  

This membership can be renewed annually. For more information on the community membership, see our  

To sign up or find out more about Library memberships, see the .

The University of Manchester’s was a great success, marking the culmination of the . The event was a collaborative effort by the Office for Open Research, the School of Engineering Open Research Lead, the UK Reproducibility Network, and the Cancer Research UK 91ֱ�� Institute with support from the University's Open Research Strategy Group, chaired by Professor Colette Fagan.

The conference provided an inclusive platform for researchers, post-graduate students, educators, practitioners, and policy makers from diverse disciplines and sectors, to explore the principles and practices of open research.

The  and the full programme of presentations are openly available on Figshare.

Recognising Contributions: Open Research Award 2024

A highlight of the event was the announcement of the inaugural : recognising outstanding contributions to the University's open research culture over the past year.

(a Research Fellow in Health Economics at the University) was recognised for his contribution to the team research project, . This project focuses on open and transparent validation of a breast cancer screening model evaluating the clinical and economic outcomes of different risk-based screening strategies in the UK. in the UK.

Looking Ahead: Open Research Conference 2025

Based on the positive feedback from attendees, there are plans to run the conference again next year. If you are interested in being part of the Open Research conference 2025, please contact the Office for Open Research:

• openresearch@manchester.ac.uk

The collection includes over 900 recently published ebooks, handbooks and reference works spanning various disciplines including business, economics, education, geography, law, planning, politics, sociology and social policy. 

Additionally, staff and students can access a further 400 titles centred on themes of social responsibility.

These encompass a wide range of subjects, including sustainable development goals, human rights, urban and regional studies, responsible business practices, environmental economics, climate change, and social policy.

Our full ElgarOnline collection provides an invaluable resource for teaching and research across the social sciences whilst supporting interdisciplinary research groups, such as , and , and aligning with the University's commitment to Social Responsibility.

Find out more

You can find Elgar Online via and featured on the Library Subject Guides for: 

In addition to improved equipment being available, the way that you send documents to the printers will change.

We need colleagues and students to test the new printing system in advance of its launch across the University, to ensure that it works as expected for everyone. The new printing system will run alongside the existing system while testing takes place.

The trial period is proposed to run in May / June 2024. During this time, students will not be charged for printing on the new system. Note that this is a temporary arrangement and only applies on the new system; students will still be charged when using the existing system and when the free trial period ends.

Important information

• Free printing for students is only available on the test system when the trial is running. The current system will still charge for printing, and when the trial period has finished, the new system will start to charge students again.
• This is a test service and may not work as expected, so any essential documents (such as coursework or anything with a deadline) must be printed on the current system.
• We need users of the test service to give feedback about their experience.
• The trial may be stopped and re-started at any time.
• The test devices will only be available in the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons and Main Library, however people do not need to be based in those buildings to send their documents to the printing system.
• We will email users of the test system to ask for feedback via an online form (although anyone is welcome to leave feedback at any time as many times as they like)
• Support during this trial period is provided by the project team, not the IT Support Centre or Library Customer Service Desks.

Find out more

We intend to start the full deployment of the new devices across campus in the summer. Due to the large number of devices we are replacing, this work will take place in phases, which means that some areas will receive the new devices before others. Once the schedule of work has been agreed, we will post it here. Equipment in locations used by students will not be changed until after the Semester 2 exam period.

• Access workshops and online resources for revision, exam and assessment support;
• Speak to Library staff via our Library drop-in support;
• Attend wellbeing drop-in events in conjunction with 91ֱ�� Museum;
• Get wellbeing support by accessing helpful resources and workshops via the Counselling Service and Student Service.

To find out more about how the Library can help you, visit our exam and assessment support page. 

The ‘Object Lessons’ series emerged out of The Atlantic Monthly’s heralded and looks in depth at ‘the hidden lives of ordinary things’ from a variety of perspectives and theoretical approaches.  Averaging at c.25,000 words, each text focuses on a single topic to offer a fresh and often surprising focus on the materials of the everyday and question the quotidian in a manner that complements the fundamental critical practice of taking nothing for granted.

In addition to being of general interest to anyone involved in cultural studies, and intra-disciplinary research groupings as diverse as the , the and , the archive offers a virtual complement to the object-focused scholarship and collection-centred teaching activities undertaken at the Rylands. 

As usual in addition to the provision of a general link to the collection, all titles owned in the series are also individually indexed on Library Search. 

The collection features on our , and Subject Guides.

allows you to browse some of the , covering themes around well-being, LGBTQ+, and International Women’s Day or access a selection of e-books in Mandarin. 

Libby is like a digital library, so books can only be borrowed for a limited time.

If there’s an e-book you want that the Library doesn’t have, you can use the app’s ‘Notify Me’ function to request it.

Please note that you cannot request for audiobooks or through the Library’s subscription.

Access Libby

Access Libby by or through the (instructions on how to use Libby are on the catalogue entry). Sign in using your University username and password.

At present, electronic theses from the British Library’s EThOS service which are usually discoverable and accessible via Library Search are unavailable. There are, however, a number of other options for accessing theses and dissertations online via the Library. University of Manchester theses from 2010 onwards which are Open Access are available to view via the and a huge range of theses and dissertations from UK and international institutions are available electronically from – please see our and dedicated for further information and details of other sources for digitised theses. We also hold print versions of a selection of pre-2010 University of Manchester theses in the Library and these are available to request as reference only items.

In addition to EThOS, the following databases are currently unavailable until further notice: and . 

The British Library’s services for digitisations and Inter-Library Loans have also been affected. Fortunately, The University of Manchester Library has been able to continue fulfilling requests by utilising alternative avenues and via interim solutions provided by the British Library, but turnaround times have been impacted in some cases. University teaching staff should continue to make digitisation requests as normal via the , however please be aware that requests may take longer than usual to fulfil. 

In December 2023, the British Library initiated a phased recovery which is anticipated to take place over an 18 month period and will involve workarounds and interim solutions for certain areas – hopefully we will see the full return of more services in the near future. 

For further information on the impact of the cyber incident, please see the dedicated . 

 marks the culmination of  and is a collaborative effort by the Office for Open Research, the School of Engineering Open Research Lead, the UK Reproducibility Network, and the Cancer Research UK 91ֱ�� Institute.

The conference brings together researchers from across the disciplines to explore the latest advances and to discuss important topical questions being posed by society around open research and integrity.

Our Keynote Speakers include:

• : Professor of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University, advising on global science policy.
• : Senior Researcher at The Alan Turing Institute, specialising in open research and community building. Co-founder of OLS (previously Open Life Science).

Who should attend?

Open to all University staff and PGRs and those working or connected to Open Research in the UK.

How can you contribute to the conference?

Call for speakers

We are inviting speakers to share their contribution with the Open Research community.

Please submit a 300 word abstract for a 15-minute presentation via the online form: by Friday, 29 March 2024. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee and notifications of acceptance will be sent in the week beginning Monday, 1 April 2024.

Bring a poster

All staff and PGRs can bring and display a poster on the day of the conference. There will be an opportunity to discuss your research with fellow attendees during breaks in the conference programme.

Open Research Award 2024: Recognising Excellence

The conference will also feature an awards ceremony for this year’s Open Research Award winner 2024, an award recognising outstanding contributions to the University's open research culture over the past year. If you are interested in applying for the Award, further details about the nomination process and criteria can be found here:

Submission deadline: by 5pm on Friday, 29 March 2024.

Contact us

For more information about the Open Research Conference or Award please contact the Office for Open Research:

• openresearch@manchester.ac.uk

The Mass Observation archive is a pioneering project documenting the social history of Britain. It gathers valuable primary source materials, including survey responses, diaries, letters, lists, maps and photographs, offering a comprehensive insight into the everyday lives, experiences and opinions of ordinary people. These records, generated in response to a series of questionnaires (‘directives’), cover diverse themes such as current events, friends and family, the home, leisure, politics, society, culture, work, finance and the economy and new technology.

Material in Mass Observation Project, (1981-2009), addresses, in depth, a range of topics including attitudes to the USA, reading and television habits, morality and religion, Britain's relations with Europe, UK elections, and pivotal events such as the Falklands War, fall of the Berlin Wall, the Miners’ Strike, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and 9/11.

Interdisciplinary research

The collection stands as an invaluable resource for studying social trends in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In particular, it holds significant value for the University's interdisciplinary research groups in the Humanities, such as the , the (CMI) and the

Use alongside our archive (1937-1967), providing primary material from the original Mass Observation study, for access to some of the most comprehensive sources for qualitative social data in the UK.

Find out more

The collection features on our , , and Subject Guides.

• (Library Search)

• : Choose from workshops and online training resources covering a range of topics, including how to find and search information, academic writing, study strategies and wellbeing support.
• Select workshops and online training resources focusing on raising your research profile, dissemination of research, open research, publishing insights and dedicated writing time. 
• : Access expert support in specialist areas such as copyright, referencing, business data. advanced searching and systematic reviews.

For further information on all our training and support, see details via the Library website

For further help and support or join our Library experts at our .

The Fellowship Programme seeks to provide a unique opportunity for Fellows to advance their careers while contributing to the open research community. 

Notably, the programme offers financial support by covering 0.2 FTE salary costs for up to five Fellows, for a period of 12 months (subject to Head of School approval). Fellows will also receive resources and support from the .

Who is the programme for?

The programme is open to all academic, professional, and technical services colleagues at The University of Manchester and applications close on Friday, 5 April 2024. The project-based application process ensures that Fellows are selected based on the merit and potential impact of their proposed open research projects.

Fellows will contribute to the development of open research training resources and materials as part of the and will play a part in building an open research community at the University.

Find out more

For further information and details about the application process, please see the or email the team at openresearch@manchester.ac.uk.

Please note that the entrance to the building might change on the day of your visit. There will be directional signage to guide you to the building entrance. The temporary entrance will be accessible for wheelchair users. 

Enjoy our collections online and anytime by visiting and .  

Researchers can still .  

Our are still available. 

• For any questions about Rylands Next Chapter, please email uml.rylandsnextchapter@manchester.ac.uk 

The report showcases how the Library has progressed its Imagine2030 Lead Priority Areas alongside the delivery of day to day activities. 

Find out more about the Library’s services, physical and digital resources which support and advance research, teaching and learning across the University.  Achievements of Library staff over the last 12 months are also celebrated.

If you’re new to the University or returning and need a refresher, head to our  to find all the information you need to navigate Library services and support.

Library tours

Take advantage of a 30 minute tour of Main Library (10 places per tour). 

Tours run between:

• Tuesday, 30 January – Thursday, 1 February 2024
• Tuesday, 6 February – Thursday, 8 February 2024

Training and support

Take a look at our to help you in your studies or research.

Get in touch

Remember, if you need help you can talk to us directly via  or come along to one of our regular sessions.

If you’re an unfunded monograph author who will soon publish a monograph, or who published one on or after 1 October 2022, enter for your chance to win funding to make your monograph OA. 

To enter, submit a paragraph of no more than 300 words explaining why your research will benefit from OA publication to uml.openaccess@manchester.ac.uk by Friday, 26 January. Please include your publisher and your proposed or actual date of publication. 

The Library’s Research Services Team will contact successful applicants in early April 2024. Winners’ publishers will need to submit their OA fee invoice to the Library on or before 29 July 2024. The Research Services Team will then arrange OA with the winners’ publishers directly.  

If you have a question about the competition, please email uml.openaccess@manchester.ac.uk 

This is the first role of its kind to be appointed to any major research library in the world and is an immensely significant step as the Library continues to prepare for and creates its future

will lead on systems and digital development and deliver the Library’s vision, in the new context of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

The AIIA portfolio also includes responsibility for developing the Library’s role in , The University of Manchester’s £1.7 billion innovation district. With other members of Library Executive Team and Library Leadership Team, Ciaran will also contribute to ground-breaking work with leading North American universities on library futures and the ongoing engagement with the 91ֱ��-Melbourne-Toronto Research Alliance.

Ciaran was appointed following an extremely competitive process and, as an existing member of University Library staff, was able to take up his post on 1 January 2024. Ciaran was previously Head of Digital Services at the Library.

Ciaran began his career at The University of Manchester in 2004, undertaking a one-year work placement with IT Services whilst studying Computing at Sheffield Hallam University. He returned to the University in 2009 as an IT Analyst in IT Services, before moving to the Library’s Digital Team in 2011. 

Since then he has been instrumental in supporting core Library platforms, introducing Alma in 2013, and Primo VE (Library Search) in 2018. 

Ciaran’s successes include championing Digital First, the Library’s digital transformation programme, supporting the move to agile working, and the Library’s early adoption of Microsoft Teams.

The University of Manchester Library now offers institutional memberships for these tools, granting staff and students access to premium features and dedicated technical support. 

For further information about how to sign up, please see the .  

Get in Touch 

If you have any questions, please contact the Library's Research Services team at libraryresearch@manchester.ac.uk  

Who gets to decide how we are represented? Many people’s histories in the Library have been overlooked  but they have always been here. 

The stories in this exhibition examine self-representation, identity politics and community solidarity. This exhibition is a starting point. It is a commitment to show that this Library is for and about everyone.  

Items on display: 

• Newly commissioned poem by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan reflecting on how identities are represented in the archive.
• Photographs, flyer and map exploring 91ֱ�� Carnival in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. 
• Letter and books by members of the LGBTQ+ family including Eleanor Butler, Wilfred Owen and Frances Power Cobbe. 

Many items in this exhibition are from the The RACE Centre is a specialist library and archive focusing on the history of global majority communities in Greater 91ֱ�� (and beyond), as well as anti-racist activism, refugeeism and migration, and the development of thinking about race and ethnicity. 

Free entry. 

• .

Unfunded monograph authors from any University faculty can enter the Library’s Open Access (OA) monograph competition, as long as they will soon be publishing a monograph or published one on or after 1 October 2022 – this includes eligible entries from last year’s competition. 

Winners will receive funding from the Library to make their monographs OA. The Library will arrange this directly with the winners’ publishers. 

How to enter

To enter, submit a paragraph of no more than 300 words explaining why your research will benefit from OA publication to uml.openaccess@manchester.ac.uk by Friday, 26 January 2024. Please include your publisher and your proposed or actual date of publication. 

We would particularly welcome entries from authors publishing with fully open access book publishers. 

After the closing date, entries will be judged by a representative panel led by Neil Humphrey, Associate Dean for Research in Humanities. Whilst the overall number of winning entries is subject to publisher pricing, at least one entry will be chosen from each School. Go to for details of the winners from last year’s competition.  

The Library’s Research Services Team will contact successful applicants in early April 2024. Winners’ publishers will need to submit their OA fee invoice to the Library on or before 29 July 2024. The Research Services Team will then arrange OA with the winners’ publishers directly.

If you have a question about the competition, please email uml.openaccess@manchester.ac.uk 

In conjunction with the new policy, UKRI has announced that approximately £3.5 million will be made available to support Open Access for long-form outputs via a national ring-fenced fund.

UKRI is now accepting applications to access this fund. For further information on the policy and how to apply to access this funding via the Library, please visit the Library website:

If you have any questions about the policy, please contact the Library’s Open Access team via libraryresearch@manchester.ac.uk