Reaching the wider community
As a key resource, the Library Outreach Programme seeks to engage the wider community through a variety of different membership possibilities and other activities.
Membership for HSC staff
All Health and Social Care (HSC) staff throughout Northern Ireland can avail of library and information services, free of charge. These services are provided by The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland, in partnership with the Department of Health. HSC library members are allowed to borrow or request material from all the branches of the Queen’s University Library.
Non-members
We also provides access to the library to non-members within the following schemes:
Visitor Access
Any member of the public can use the Medical Library and Biomedical Library for reference purposes. Visits to the McClay Library are welcomed, following advanced registration, from members of the public who cannot otherwise obtain access to the printed material they need.
Special Collections & Archives at The McClay Library – Floor 1
Access to Special Collections is available to both Library members and members of the public who wish to make use of the resource. Access to the Archive is also possible virtually by email, post or phone.
Special Collections also does outreach work with local and wider community as they:
• host primary and post-primary school visits, from institutions across Ireland.
• work with local history societies to encourage research and access to our collections. Staff deliver talks to local history groups and societies about Special Collections in general and more specific collections.
• collaborated with JSTOR to create the Ireland Collection, which makes over 100 journals of Irish interest available full-text free to access at all schools, public libraries, research and FE and HE institutions in NI, RoI and UK.
• have an ongoing digitisation programme which facilitates free online access to a range of materials from our collections.
• have developed and maintains RASCAL, a free to access online resource which documents special collections and archives available in NI and RoI to the general public and more expert researchers.
• recognise the importance of access to cultural heritage for local community and facilitates visitor access to support.
• work closely with local institutions, such as NIPR (Northern Ireland Publications Resource), Armagh Public Library, Linen Hall Library, Servite Library, Libraries NI, to maximise exploitation of all our resources and to develop projects to support local community interests.
• support local film, TV, radio documentary production by providing access to our collections and research support.
C.S. Lewis Reading Room – Floor 1
Members of the public are welcome to visit the C.S. Lewis Reading Room and can do so without prior warning or registration requirement during staffed opening hours.
Contributing to the wider community
Green Impact programme
The McClay Library at Queen’s holds a global award for its role as a model of sustainable design. We continue to contribute to and support the ‘environmental sustainability’ of library buildings, services and working practices. Our aim is to reduce energy levels and provide energy output as efficiently as possible. We encourage all staff, students, visitors to recycle paper, waste etc., in appropriate bins in an effort to reduce carbon footprint.
Annual Coffee Mornings
The McClay Library hosts a very successful annual Coffee Morning (in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support) each year in December. Library and Information Services staff provide tea and coffee and gather hampers and gifts from local businesses to be raffled to staff across the University in aid of this wonderful charity.
Better World Books
Through Better World Books we recycle our old book stock, helping to save trees and landfill space. Better World Books sells books online to raise money for leading literacy charities. This charity uses the money to build schools, start libraries, provide scholarships and support learning around the world. If they can’t sell the books, they make sure that they are otherwise reused or recycled.
Nothing goes into landfill.
Social Media
Social media has become a major tool employed by the library to promote awareness among our current and potential customers. Social media and networking through Facebook, Social Media websites are excellent avenues for reaching the wider community to tell them about our news and events.
Updated January 2024