Library membership for alumni
Alumni or retired staff members who live in the UK are eligible for free membership to our on-campus Library.
Accessing the library
About alumni membership
As a valued member of our alumni community, the alumni library membership enables you to:
- Use the Library building
- Access guest Wi-Fi using your own device
- Borrow up to four items for an initial seven-day loan period
- Benefit from automatic seven-day rolling renewals, unless an item is requested by another borrower
- Search our collections in advance using SurreySearch
- Request eligible items to be set aside for collection
- Access Open Access research resources
Please note that alumni library membership is only available to UK residents.
What is not included
Alumni library membership does not include access to:
- Online subscription resources
- Library PCs
- Library printers
- Group or individual study rooms
Open access resources
Many academic articles and research outputs are now published open access and are freely available online.
You can explore the University of Surrey Open Access Repository, as well as other open access books, journals, datasets and global repositories through the Open Access research resource lists.
You may also wish to use tools such as the Unpaywall browser extension, which can help connect you with freely available open access research.
How to apply
- Complete the alumni benefits form.
- The Alumni Team will verify your alumni status and, once confirmed, forward your application to the Library.
- You will receive a membership number and password by email within 14 days of submitting your form.
- Collect your membership card from the Library Welcome Desk on Level 1. Please bring your confirmation email and a form of photo ID.
Your membership card is valid for five years and can be renewed.
For questions or further information, please contact the Alumni Team at alumni@surrey.ac.uk.