Leisure Reading Collection: Accessing and Using Your Public Library

A quick guide to accessing and using the collections of your local public library!

During the recent lockdown, many people discovered, or re-discovered, their local public library, where some of the main attractions were the availability of ebooks and audiobooks. Here is an interesting article on the benefits of using your local public library.

If you are in Leicester, you can find a list of your local public libraries on the council website. There is also a useful guide to accessing ebooks and audiobooks that the public library have access to, on their website. If you are not currently a member of one of the public libraries in Leicester, you can find information about how to join on their website. Leicester public libraries also publish a monthly newsletter: you can see back issues here, and there's a sign-up form here.

If you are studying at DMU, but doing this from home outside of Leicester, you may want to look at what your local public library has on offer. Most public library websites can be found on the .gov website for the local council and will likely appear on an internet search results page if you search for the name of the town and include the word 'library'. So, for example, a Google search for 'libraries in Bristol' returns results that include a link to Bristol public libraries.

If you are studying at DMU and living in Leicester, you can join your local public library. 

Joining your local public library in Leicester is very easy, you can pop along in person or submit your application in advance online. Click the picture for more information on how to join in person.

Ebooks and audiobooks

If you want to find out what titles are available as electronic books, or audiobooks, have a look at this page, where you will find the latest new additions; titles in selected themes, like the Booker Prize Winner titles, or titles selected for the Women's Prize for Fiction; titles selected from the rRchard and Judy Bookclub, and much more!

Suggested reading

The public library have created reading lists! Don't worry, these aren't quite like your DMU Resource Lists, which list titles that your lecturer expects you to read: These are selections of books on a particular theme, or written in a specific genre, like crime or romance novels, that you might want to read in your leisure time! These are essentially physical books that the public library has, but you could use this list to identify titles you'd like to read and then see if they are available electronically anywhere. 

Search the Public Library Catalogue

Use the public library catalogue to search for titles. 

Search the Library Catalogue

Library opening hours

Library webpage

Library FAQs