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Published on Leave a comment on Here comes the summer – books about nature to inspire you to get outdoors

June is here, and while the weather in Scotland this week might not suggest it, today marks the start of meteorological summer in the UK. With longer and warmer days, it's time to enjoy the outdoors. Whether you're recovering from your exams or working hard on your dissertation, spending time in green space can benefit your mental health and physical wellbeing.1

Here are some books from the Wellbeing Collection to inspire you to get out into nature.

Book coverThe Wild Remedy: How Nature Mends Us - A Diary

Emma Mitchell's richly illustrated and evocative diary records her nature finds over the course of a year and shows how being in the wild benefits our mental and physical wellbeing.

Into the Forest: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness

Humans are increasingly becoming an indoor species. We spend 90 per cent of our life indoors. And, on average, we dedicate eight hours a day looking at screens. Our increasingly domestic lives are having huge consequences to our health. In Into the Forest, Immunologist and Forest Medicine expert, Dr Qing Li, examines the unprecedented benefits of the world's largest natural health resource: the great outdoors.

Gardening for Mind, Body and Soul: How to Nurture Your Well-Being with Nature

Science now tells us that cultivating a green space of our own can be restorative and even transformative for our physical and mental well-being, with a proven ability to reduce depression and anxiety, boost our happiness levels and provide a feeling of balance and calm. Explore which plants release scents to help uplift and soothe, discover the ways gardening can promote feelings of balance and calm, and experience how growing plants from seeds teaches us to slow down and appreciate the simple things.

Walk yourself happy : find your path to health and healing in nature

Walking, one of the most accessible activities for most of us, is the fastest and easiest way to embed yourself in nature. You don't need expertise or equipment; you just need to put one foot in front of another. You don't need an epic landscape either, you can walk down the street or in your local green space.

About the Library Wellbeing Collection

The Library supports wellbeing through buying, promoting and providing access to a range of relevant print and electronic resources. The Library’s Wellbeing Collection is for all University of Edinburgh staff and students. 

Browse and borrow from the Wellbeing Collection Space on the 1st floor of the Main Library. Some books from the Wellbeing Collection are also available at Moray House Library and at the Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library.

Explore more of the resources in the Library Wellbeing Collection on the website.

1 Nature and mental health (2025) Mind. Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/nature-and-mental-health/ (Accessed: 01 June 2026).

Published on Leave a comment on Full access to Oxford Handbooks Online now available!

We're happy to let you know that the Library has taken out a subscription to Oxford Handbooks Online (OHO), giving you seamless access to the complete collection of these invaluable resources.

Logo for Oxford Handbooks Online.

Previously, the library held perpetual access only to selected Oxford Handbook collections and individual titles, meaning some of the latest chapters and handbooks were unavailable to users. With the new subscription, not only do we open up access to all current and future content, but we also solve the issue of “turnaways” (when users are denied access because the content isn’t part of our existing holdings). ...continue reading "Full access to Oxford Handbooks Online now available!"

Published on Leave a comment on Trial access: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Disability Studies

Multiple outlines of heads each featuring different colours and patterns are placed across a blue background. There is a repeating diamond outline pattern overlaying the bottom right of the image.

We currently have trial access to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Disability Studies on a limited time basis.

Disability studies is an established interdisciplinary subject that spans the fields of social science, the humanities, and education, not to mention the many academic subjects therein, be it progressively or potentially. The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Disability Studies provides current and peer-reviewed articles that can be read in 30 minutes or less, providing an accessible entry point to the topic. The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Disability Studies is overseen by David Bolt and an editorial board of subject experts, ensuring a comprehensive, encyclopedic map of the field.

If you're interested in exploring this resource please visit the E-Resources Trials page for more information and to provide feedback. Your comments are invaluable in helping us decide which databases are important for us to subscribe to, so please do fill in the short form linked on the page.

We have access to this trial until 17th July 2026. If you have any questions or would like to recommend other subscriptions for us to trial, please contact us:

Email the Library Academic Support Team

Published on Leave a comment on Report from the LILAC 2026 information literacy conference: reflections and highlights
External view of red-brick university building in the background with trees and flowers in the foreground.
Image: Firth Court Building, University of Sheffield.

This year's LILAC information literacy conference was held from 30 March - 1 April 2026 at the University of Sheffield with two members of the Library Academic Support Team in attendance, Jade Fenton (Graduate Library Trainee) and Ishbel Leggat (Academic Support Librarian).

Jade and Ishbel have put together a summary of their reflections and picked out some highlights from the conference below.

...continue reading "Report from the LILAC 2026 information literacy conference: reflections and highlights"

Published on Leave a comment on Librarians in Berlin : visits, views and vital connections

I arrived in Berlin on Monday 16 March as one of the twelve University of Edinburgh

Peter Smolak holding a Hebrew book from Freie Universitat Berlin's collections
Peter Smolak holding a Hebrew book from Freie Universitat Berlin's collections

Library colleagues participating in an international exchange visit with the Freie Universitat Berlin. We were blessed with glorious weather and a very warm welcome from colleagues at the FUB, who joined us on the first evening for a welcome meal at the Schwartzes Café. On Tuesday morning, I was greeted at the FUB by Dr Helen Younansardaroud, subject specialist for Ancient history, Orient and Religions, who I had previously met at UK and European theological library conferences. I was also welcomed by Dr Peter Smolak, who recently visited the UoE Library on a two week placement where he gave us the benefit of his Hebrew skills as a Jewish Studies specialist to catalogue some of the New College Library book collections.

...continue reading "Librarians in Berlin : visits, views and vital connections"

Published on Leave a comment on Beat exam burnout: Library resources to help you relax and recharge

Feeling the pressure of exams creeping up? It’s easy to get caught in a cycle of nonstop study that leaves you stressed and burnt out. But luckily your library has a treasure trove of resources designed to help you relax, recharge, and maintain your wellbeing during this intense period. From our specially curated Wellbeing Collection and the Leisure Reading Collection available through Libby, to streaming platforms offering movies, TV shows, theatre performances, and music, there are plenty of ways to take a meaningful break and refresh your mind.

Library Wellbeing Collection

Collage of 6 book covers from titles in the Wellbeing Collection.

Did you know the Library has a Wellbeing Collection? A mix of online and print resources covering all aspects of wellbeing, purchased specifically with you in mind. In the collection you will find books on dealing with depression, anxiety and eco-anxiety, loneliness, self-esteem issues, relationships, as well as books on more general wellbeing, happiness and University life, amongst many others. ...continue reading "Beat exam burnout: Library resources to help you relax and recharge"

Published on Leave a comment on Discover the resources that will enhance your dissertation or thesis at Discovery Day

You are invited to drop in on our Discovery Day on Monday, 23 February, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Main Library. This event offers a valuable opportunity to engage with the exceptional resources available to support the development of dissertations and theses as part of our broader Dissertation and Thesis Festival.

Students engage with stalls at Discovery Day in October 2025 at the Main Library.

At Discovery Day, you will have the chance to meet representatives from leading  database publishers (databases that allow you to fully research your topic), receive expert guidance, and pick up some freebies! Our Academic Support Librarians (ASLs) will be present to assist you in navigating library resources, inform you about upcoming festival events, and offer tailored advice to support your academic progress. Colleagues from Research Data Support and Digital Skills will be there to help you find out more about support for your dissertation and thesis work. And from 1-2pm, one of our Royal Literary Fund Fellows (RLFF) will be on hand so you can find out more about writing support available to you from the Library.

...continue reading "Discover the resources that will enhance your dissertation or thesis at Discovery Day"

Published on Leave a comment on What is grey literature and where to find it
Black and white image of a pile of books
Image by Photorama from Pixabay

Grey literature can be a rich resource when researching for a literature review or dissertation topic. It can help you find current and emerging research, viewpoints of individuals such as patients and consumers, and more in depth or practical coverage of topics.

It can also help you to mitigate against 'publication bias’, where studies showing positive research results are much more likely to be published in journals. A search for grey literature will help to ensure that all relevant results, even if negative, are located.

'Grey literature' refers to a wide range of information which is not formally or commercially published, and which is often not well represented in library research databases. Here we’ll give several top tips for finding and using grey literature. ...continue reading "What is grey literature and where to find it"

Published on Leave a comment on Take a break with BoB: your holiday playlists

Congratulations! You’ve almost made it to the end of semester one. The essays are submitted, the exams are done (or nearly done), and it is officially time to relax. While we usually encourage you to use the Library for research, this Christmas we are encouraging you to use one of our best resources, and a bit of a hidden gem, for something else entirely: pure entertainment.

Screenshot of the Box of Broadcasts (BoB) homepage with BoB logo and sub-heading "On Demand TV and Radio for Education", with Sign In button and Find Out More button.

Meet your new best friend: BoB

If you haven’t used Box of Broadcasts (BoB) yet, you are in for a treat. BoB is an on-demand TV and radio service for education. It allows you to record programmes from over 75 free-to-air channels, but the real magic lies in the archive. ...continue reading "Take a break with BoB: your holiday playlists"

Published on Leave a comment on 5 things: supporting you in your exams

Semester one is almost over and exams are looming! As the exam period approaches, it’s natural to start feeling the pressure build. But remember, you’re not alone!

At the University of Edinburgh, there are plenty of resources and services designed to support you every step of the way. In this post, we’ll highlight five key ways the library can help – from available study spaces and digital resources to helpful guides and wellbeing support – so you can make the most of your revision and head into exams feeling confident and prepared.

1) Study space, study space everywhere but not a place to sit?

A collage showing different library interiors: a large historic reading room with stained glass windows and wooden desks; a modern library aisle with bookshelves and a person working at a desk by a window; a quiet study area with tables and chairs; and a group study space with students working together.
Clockwise from left: New College Library, ECA Library, Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library, and Moray House Library.

It can feel like this sometimes during the revision and exam period, particularly if you are a regular at the Main Library or Law Library. But there are lots of study spaces across our campuses that you have access to, including some temporary additional study space during the exam period.

While the Main Library is a favourite for many, there are 8 other site libraries that you have access to (with your student card). These range from old-fashioned, picturesque libraries, to modern libraries with light and space and also include a library in what used to be a swimming pool.

Locations and opening hours of our libraries ...continue reading "5 things: supporting you in your exams"

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