The Sir Duncan Rice Library: 24-hour opening and Floor 5 silent study before and during Exams

The Sir Duncan Rice Library will open at 11.00 on Sunday 23 April, and stay open continuously until 22.00 on Friday 12 May 2023.

Over this period, it is important that you are aware of the following:

  • Swipe access only after 22.00 – please ensure you have your ID card, as access will not be permitted without it.
  • The PCs require a nightly shutdown (lasting about ten minutes) and reboot for essential maintenance. This will happen at 04.00, and you will be given an option to delay this for 2 hours.
  • Essential cleaning of the building will be carried out overnight between 02.00 and 06.00, which may result in some disruption.
  • Look after yourselves and your belongings – take breaks, but do not leave your personal belongings unattended.
  • Take care if leaving the library in the early hours – travel with friends if possible.

Please respect the building and your fellow library users:

  1. Hot and cold drinks in covered containers can be consumed in the library.
  2. Cold food can be consumed in the same locations – but not if it is has a strong smell or is noisy! (Remember – no hot food allowed apart from the café area on the ground floor).
  3. Tidy up after yourself – use the bins which are available on each of the floors.
  4. Keep talk to the group study areas to allow others to study.
  5. Please go to the stairwells to make/take phone calls

Please note that during this period, the whole of Floor 5 in The Sir Duncan Rice Library will once again operate as a Silent Study area.

Silent Study: Floor 5 of The Sir Duncan Rice Library, Sunday 23 April to Friday 12 May. Looking for a place to study? There are a range of study spaces throughout The Sir Duncan Rice Library, allowing silent, quiet and collaborative study. Facebook, twitter accounts: @aberdeenunilib. BeWell: abdn.ac.uk/bewell

Students are required to observe the following rules on Floor 5:

  • No discussions, conversations, or phone/video calls
  • No noisy food
  • No loud music from headphones
  • Please go to the stairwells to make/take phone calls or hold conversations.

In addition to the Floor 5 Silent Study Space, our designated Silent Study rooms on Floors 3, 4, 5 and 6 on the south side of the building will operate as normal. The Silent Study room on Floor 6 (Room 624) is the only Silent Study room in the building where electronic devices are not allowed.

Elsewhere in the building, we encourage all users to keep noise and conversations to a minimum. Library staff will be readily available throughout the Library to promote an environment conducive to study.

If you require space for group discussion and collaborative working, have you considered booking a space across our different libraries? See our website for further details.

Please report any problems to security staff on duty – in person (Information Centre,
Floor 1, TSDRL) or by phone (01224 273330).

Also check out the opening hours for our other two Library sites, as Taylor and Medical will not be open 24/7 during these dates.

Welcome to the Library

external photo of the Sir Duncan Rice Library

It has been exciting to see our new and returning students in the Library after the winter break. Library staff are here to help you make the most of our resources and services, whether you are based on, or off, campus. Please get in touch with any queries you may have.

For general or subject-related enquiries, contact us on library@abdn.ac.uk, or please do enquire in person: Library staff will be available at set times at the Information Centre on Floor 1, or on Floors 5 & 6 of the Sir Duncan Rice Library.

If you wish to contact the Information Consultant for your discipline, please check our website for their contact details.

Library Resources

When searching for books on your Reading List, or other resources, please use the Library’s discovery tool, Primo. Primo provides information about our printed resources, and is also the recommended access route to our extensive e-resources, digital collections and databases.

Our comprehensive Library guides offer detailed answers to any questions you may have about our resources. If you haven’t used Primo before, you may find the following guides helpful:

Primo Quick Guide
Primo: How to do a simple search successfully  
Primo: How to do an advanced search successfully
Accessing e-resources 

Please do contact Library staff if you are having trouble accessing or finding your resources. We are happy to help.

IT Issues

If you have any problems with your device or accessing information, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Visiting the Library

Please note that there is now a webpage on our site where you can see the current occupancy of the Sir Duncan Rice library and the Taylor library. Before you visit any of our Library sites please view our Library Opening hours.

Please follow us on our social media channels to keep up with news from the Library. Once again, we would like to extend a warm welcome to all our students and wish you all a happy new year.

24 Hour Opening in The Sir Duncan Rice Library

In the lead up to the fast-approaching exam period, The Sir Duncan Rice Library will be extending its opening hours to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are only a few days until this goes into effect, and we want to let you know just now so that you can properly plan your revision.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library will open at 11.00 on Sunday 20 November and stay open continuously until 22.00 on Friday 16 December, 2022.

Over this period, it is important that you are aware of the following:

  • Swipe access only after 22.00 – please ensure you have your ID card as access after 22.00 will not be permitted without it.
  • The PCs require a nightly shutdown (lasting about ten minutes) and reboot for essential maintenance. You will be given an option to delay this for two hours.
  • Essential cleaning of the building will be carried out overnight between 02.00 and 06.00, which may result in some disruption.
  • Look after yourselves and your belongings – take breaks, but do not leave your personal belongings unattended.
  • Take care if leaving the Library in the early hours – travel with friends if possible.

Please respect the building and your fellow library users:

  1. Hot and cold drinks in covered containers can be consumed in the library.
  2. Hot food is only allowed in the café area on the ground floor.
  3. Only cold food can be consumed on the upper floors – please no noisy food or food with a strong smell.
  4. Tidy up after yourself – use the bins and sanitary wipes which are available on each of the floors.
  5. Keep talk to the group study areas to allow others to study.

Please report any problems to security staff on duty – in person (Information Centre,
Floor 1, TSDRL) or by phone (01224 273330).

Please remember to check the opening hours for our other two Library sites, as Taylor and Medical will not be open 24/7 during these dates.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, contact us at library@abdn.ac.uk.

A reminder that Floor 5 in the Sir Duncan Rice Library will operate as a “silent” floor between Monday 21 November and Friday 16 December. For more information please see our previous blog post.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: Library Closures 2-5 June

Her Majesty The Queen is the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service.

To celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the University of Aberdeen, including all library sites, will be closed from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June, inclusive.

Our libraries will reopen on Monday 6 June. Please check our Library Opening Hours here.

Information on The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee events can be found here :

HM Government website

The Royal Family’s Platinum Jubilee website

Aberdeen City Council website

Summer Opening Hours at our Libraries

From Saturday 21 May our libraries will be moving to their Summer opening hours.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library

At The Sir Duncan Rice Library our 24-hour opening will end at 22:00 on Friday 20 May and we will move into our Summer hours from Saturday:

Monday08.30-20.00
Tuesday08.30-20.00
Wednesday08.30-20.00
Thursday08.30-20.00
Friday*08.30-20.00
Saturday 09.00-17.00
Sunday13.00-17.00

Please note: On Friday 10 June, The Sir Duncan Rice Library will be closing at 17:00 for a University event. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Taylor Library

The Taylor Library also moves into Summer hours beginning Saturday 21 May:

Monday09.00-17.00
Tuesday09.00-17.00
Wednesday09.00-17.00
Thursday09.00-17.00
Friday09.00-17.00
Saturday Closed
SundayClosed

You can see the current occupancy of both TSDRL and Taylor on our website.

Medical Library

Our Medical Library continues with their usual opening hours throughout Summer, here’s a reminder of the current hours:

Monday09.00-22.00
Tuesday09.00-22.00
Wednesday09.00-22.00
Thursday09.00-22.00
Friday09.00-20.00
Saturday 09.00-22:00
Sunday13.00-22.00

Stay up to date with our opening hours across all of our libraries on our website.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library Opening Hours during the Winter Break

The winter break is almost here, bringing with it the opportunity for a much-needed rest from study and research.  And before the Winter Term closes, we would like to let you know the opening hours of The Sir Duncan Rice Library during the winter break and public holidays.

All libraries at the University of Aberdeen will be closing at 5pm on Thursday, 23 December and reopen again on Thursday, 6 January.

Full details of the opening hours at our other two library sites, Taylor Library and Medical Library can be found on our website.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library is open 24/7 until Friday, 17 December when we will close at 22.00.  We will then be open at the times given below.

Statue in the snow. (Jonathan Mackintosh)
Saturday 18 December9:00 – 13:00
Sunday 19 DecemberClosed
Monday 20 – Thursday 23 December8:30 – 17:00
24 December 2021 – 5 January 2022Closed
Thursday 6 & Friday 7 January8:30 – 17:00
Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 JanuaryClosed
Monday 10 January8:00 – 00:00 (Normal Term Hours Resume)

Wishing all of our readers a safe, well-deserved holiday and we look forward to welcoming you back in January for the start of the new term.

24 Hour Opening in The Sir Duncan Rice Library

In the lead up to the assessment period The Sir Duncan Rice Library will be extending its opening hours to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are just a few days until this goes into effect, and we want to let you know just now so that you can properly plan your revision.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library will open at 11.00 on Sunday November 21 and stay open continuously until 22.00 on Friday December 17, 2021.

Please note that your ID card is still required for access to the building – please ensure you have your ID card as access after 22.00 will not be permitted without it.

Over this period, it is important that you are aware of the following:

  • The PCs require a nightly shutdown (lasting about ten minutes) and reboot for essential maintenance. This will happen at 04.00, and you will be given an option to delay this for 2 hours.
  • Essential cleaning of the building will be carried out overnight between 02.00 and 06.00, which may result in some disruption.
  • Look after yourselves and your belongings – take breaks, but do not leave your personal belongings unattended.
  • Take care if leaving the Library in the early hours – travel with friends if possible.

Please respect the building and your fellow library users:

  1. Properly fitted face coverings are a legal requirement and must be worn while seated in the building. Please wear a sunflower lanyard if you are exempt.
  2. No food is allowed in the building except for in the café area.
  3. Bottled water only in the Library.
  4. Tidy up after yourself – use the sanitary wipes and bins which are available on each of the floors.
  5. Keep talk to the group study areas to allow others to study.

Please report any problems to security staff on duty – in person (Information Centre,
Floor 1, TSDRL) or by phone (01224 273330).

Please remember to check out the opening hours for our other two Library sites, as Taylor and Medical will not be open 24/7 during these dates.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, contact us at library@abdn.ac.uk.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library: extension to opening hours

We have extended the opening hours at The Sir Duncan Rice Library so that we will now stay open until midnight from Monday to Thursday, and on Sundays.

Here are the current opening hours for The Sir Duncan Rice Library:

  • Monday: 08.00-00.00
  • Tuesday: 08.00-00.00
  • Wednesday: 08.00-00.00
  • Thursday: 08.00-00.00
  • Friday: 08.00-22.00
  • Saturday: 09.00-22.00
  • Sunday: 11.00-00.00

Details of opening hours for all our libraries are available on the library website.

Important changes to Library service

We are pleased to announce that from Monday 26 April, as Scotland moves to Level 3 restrictions, we will be extending opening hours at The Sir Duncan Rice Library and the Medical Library (Foresterhill campus). Also, the Taylor Library will be reopening.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library and the Taylor and Medical libraries will all be open for our students and staff:

  • Monday-Friday 09:00-20:00
  • Saturday & Sunday13:00-17:00

Wolfson Reading Room to re-open

From 26 April we will also be able to offer research access, on an appointment only basis, to University of Aberdeen staff and students. For more details, please see https://bit.ly/2QNtHs4.

Hardback Café

As of Monday 26 April the Hardback Café in The Sir Duncan Rice Library will also be open Monday-Thursday 10:30-19:00 and Friday 10:30-17:00.

Further changes

Service changes will also see an increase in seating capacity at all library sites. Access to bookshelves will also be restored. Please note that Floor 1 of The Sir Duncan Rice Library will continue to be kept free of study spaces. Study spaces will be available from floors 2 through to 7.

Our Click and Collect service will continue.

All Covid safety rules remain in place, including the wearing of face coverings at all times and a restricted number of study spaces.

If you do visit our libraries, please be aware that all the rules we put in place in 2020 still apply. These measures exist to ensure that we are keeping both you and our staff safe. Support us by taking time to read them and please observe the rules without requiring Library staff to remind you. 

Further information and FAQs can be found on our Coronavirus and Library Services webpage.