What's New at the Library: Students get started and more
02 Sep 2025
Support for students, online reading lists support, new exhibitions and updates on our spaces – here’s your essential update on what’s happening in and around the Library for September 2025.
Teaching and Learning
Get Started with the Library
The Library is here to support students throughout their time at University. For information on how to use the Library and make the most of its services, please signpost students to the Library's Get Started webpage.
This provides information on:
- how to access our books, journals and databases to help with your studies;
- our free training workshops designed to help you build the personal and academic skills you need to succeed;
- the study spaces available to you on campus;
- how to set up your IT account.
Reading Lists Online User Interface: Support throughout September
Following the recent update to our Reading Lists Online user interface, the Library is offering tailored advice and support to teaching staff.
Our dedicated team will be running weekly ‘Office Hours’ sessions between 10am – 12pm on the following Thursdays:
- 11 September
- 18 September
- 25 September
Email uml.readinglists@manchester.ac.uk to arrange a call or visit, including any specific questions you may have.
For further information, see our fully updated User Guides on our Reading Lists Online webpages.
Our Collections
New exhibit: Come Out Tonight: queer 90s nightlife in Spinningfields
The John Rylands Library has a new exhibition in Spinningfields to mark Manchester Pride 2025 in collaboration with photographers Stuart Linden Rhodes and Jon Shard. The exhibit runs from Monday, 18 August until Sunday, 5 October.
Come Out Tonight: queer 90s nightlife captures the energy and growth of the queer scene of the early 1990s. Displayed along The Avenue in Spinningfields, the photographs celebrate 90s queer nights in Manchester and across the country revealing a thriving, dynamic and inclusive community. Find out more at:
'Your Manchester' showcase at Main Library, exploring Manchester’s Legacy of Student Activism
The 'Your Manchester' showcase will be on display at Main Library from 22 September 2025. Items from our University Heritage Collections and University Archives highlight the historic links between Manchester’s political climate, our students, and causes such as suffrage, racial justice and socialism. The showcase is supported by a display of items from the Student Life at Manchester Archive, material from the 1970s to the present day relating to students’ everyday experiences of life at The University of Manchester.
For the first time the Library will also highlight items selected by staff and researchers in the Special Collections Reading Room. Consolidated items from the Christian Brethren Archive also remain on show, for those who were unable to view the full showcase during the Main Library closure this summer.
'Your Manchester’ runs from September 2025 to February 2026, at Blue Ground in Main Library. Entry is free.
Our spaces
Main Library re-opens on Monday, 15 September, featuring new study spaces at Muriel Stott. Check our news page in mid-September for more information on this exciting redevelopment.