How to guides

These guides will help you get started using the Library services and collections.

How to videos

Find and borrow a book
Find a journal article

You can use SurreySearch to find all the journals and journal articles that are available to you.

A video is available on how to find a journal article on SurreySearch.

You can also access articles in other ways.

Open Access

You can find Open access copies. If you install an Open Access plugin or browser extension you can search the internet for open access versions of articles.

There is a video on how to find open access resources.

  • LibKey Nomad - provided free to you by the Library, this is a web browser extension that links you directly to articles subscribed to by the Library as well as open access alternatives and will automatically take you to the full-text if available.
  • Unpaywall - you can install the web browser extension which will automatically point you to any open access version of paywalled articles.
  • Open Access button - you can enter an article’s URL, DOI, title or other information to check for a free legal open access version and there are Chrome and Firefox extensions. When an open access copy is not found, the OA Button can contact the author directly for you.

InterLibrary Loan Service

You can use the InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Service to request journal articles (or books) you need that are not available in the Library.

Request an article from the author

You can contact the author directly and ask for a PDF of a preprint. The author’s name and institution are usually shown on the preview page of the article. This version is only for private use and can’t be shared with colleagues or other students.

Get learning support

The Academic Skills and Development and Maths and Statistics Advice teams offer advice and guidance for taught students at Surrey, helping you to enhance and develop your academic, numeracy, personal and professional skills. 

Watch our video on how to access help with your studies, and find out about our appointments, drop-ins, and workshops.

Don’t forget, you also have access to the My Learning Development at Surrey module on SurreyLearn which is full of useful guides, online resources and video tutorials that you can access 24 hours a day.

Book an appointment with the Academic Skills and Development team

Our Academic Skills and Development team offer advice on all aspects of your studies such as writing, referencing, researching and critical thinking skills.

Find out more about what guidance you can get.

Book an appointment with the Maths and Statistics Advice team

Our Maths and Statistics Advice team offer guidance on all aspects of mathematics and statistics such as data collection, tests, numeracy and software to name a few.

Find out more about what support you can get on our MySurrey webpages.

Find resources online

You can use our SurreySearch to find various resources, watch our videos below to find out more about what you can search for.

Print on campus

The University offers a SurreyPrint service, which allows you to send a print job to any of the hundreds of printers across the campus. 

Take a look at our videos and guides about printing on campus.

Get help using Library services

Watch our video about how to get help using Library services.

You can find us at the Library Welcome desk on Level 1 of the Library, call us on +44 (0)1483 689235, or email us on library@surrey.ac.uk

Find and use my reading list
How do I download BSI Online pdfs?

Please see the instructions on how to download BSI Online Standards as pdfs on your own device.

Get in contact

Please contact us if you have any questions, or would like further guidance.

To provide feedback on our services you can use our online feedback form.

Watch our video about how to get help using Library services.

MySurrey Help is packed with answers to the most common questions.

Search MySurrey Help now