Goldsmiths - University of London
Subject Guides
Skip to main content

Library Services and Academic Skills Support During COVID-19: Accessing Online Resources

A-Z Resource List

Senate House Access

As a Goldsmiths student, you can register online for free access to Senate House's online resources. It only takes a couple of minutes, follow this link for registration. We have more information here.

This includes their online resources and any e-journals and ebooks on their catalogue.

Useful Guides

  • eBooks
    Last Updated Oct 28, 2020 251 views this year

Accessing Resources

All online resources that were available on campus are also available off campus. You will need your IT account to log in. This is for current staff and students only. For Alumni information, please check this guide. If you find your IT account is blocked, please contact IT directly.

You can continue to use the Library Search and the A-Z Resource List to find resources.

We have a guide about accessing online journals and magazines here.

You can use the filters on the right handside of the Library Search to search for ebooks and articles.

Some resources may need a particular log-in. These are clearly signaled in the menu that opens from Library Search. You can access those log-ins here.

Sign In to the Library Search

When using Library Search to find articles it's always best to sign in to your library account as this will improve search results.

Just click 'Sign in', this will take you to Goldsmiths Sign In page. This log in should be the same as for other Goldsmiths platforms, e.g. the VLE, your email, etc. If you have trouble logging in look for the 'LiveChat is online' box at the side of the page or contact the helpdesk.


Links from Library Search should prompt you to sign in through the Goldsmiths Sign in page, as seen above.

However, if you found something outside of Library Search or aren't prompted to login you should take the following steps:

  1. Look for the login options on the page, they're generally in the top-right corner and say something like 'Login via Institution' or 'Shibboleth login'.
  2. After clicking on the relevant login option, you might need to select 'UK Access Management Federation' or 'UK Institutions'.
  3. Then you will have the option to select Goldsmiths University of London from a list of institutions and log in.

If you have trouble logging in look for the 'LiveChat is online' box or contact the helpdesk.

Finding Ebooks during COVID-19

During the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of publishers and online content providers have given temporary access to ebook collections. However these are not included in Library Search and can be tricky to find, so we advise you follow these steps to check if you can access an ebook.  
 
Please ask a member of staff on Live Chat if you need any help.  
 
Search for your book (title and author/editor) in the following places:  
 
  1. Library Search
    Select ‘e-books’ or ‘Electronic Books’ before you start searching. 
  2. Senate House Library
    You can access Senate House e-resources from home (for free). Register or renew online if you do not have a current Senate House Library account. 
  3. Search engines 
    Check on Google or another search engine. Try using '.pdf' in your search, but watch out for copyright infringements. 
  4. Free ebook collections: These are not included in Library Search.
  5. The publisher: 
    Check who published the book, and then see if they’ve given free access to their collections during Covid-19. Remember that some publishers are actually small imprints of larger publishers. These are not included in Library Search.
    1. Check our Free Resources During Covid-19 page to see if the publisher is listed and to get access
    2. Check the Public Books Database, a list of publishers offering access to some of their publications

If none of these steps give you access, you can do the following: 
  1. Check Proquest Ebook Collection to see if the ebook is available to rent. Ebooks that are available for rental will be marked as “Available on request”. Click on the title of the ebook. You will see the option to either “read this book” for 5 minutes or “request this book”. We will let you know if your rental has been approved.
  2. Check out some of our alternative e-resources on the same topic on Library Search or on our Subject Guides. 

Useful Browser Extensions

These browser plugins can help you quickly access the full text of articles and other resources online.

Remember these do not search 100% of our subscriptions, so if they do not link you to the full text you should always search Library Search.

Do you need help?

If you need any guidance or support while using Library Search to find articles and resources, you can speak to a librarian any time you see the green LibraryChat is online box to the right-hand side of the screen.

If you click on a link that doesn't work or took you somewhere you didn't expect, then you can use a link on the grey menu page (see below) to let us know. We're usually able to get back to you within an hour.

Chat With Us

Contact Us