The Library

The Library is the central information resource for students on all courses. In our very-well resourced library you will find a wealth of knowledge, either in print or online. We hold around 40,000 print volumes, nearly 1,000 current journal subscriptions, almost 80,000 e-books and a growing number of full-text electronic databases. The Library’s website is the gateway to many of these resources, and e-resources in particular can usually be accessed both on and off campus.

Our main collection is supplemented by a support collection and a fascinating historical collection of texts, primarily on agriculture and estate/land management dating as far back as the 16th century. The Library also holds the College archive, an irreplaceable collection of documents relating to the College since its foundation in 1845.

In addition to our collections and web services, you will find ample comfortable space within the Library in which to study and conduct research, with the benefit of having our print material alongside fully networked computers and wireless access for laptops.

The Library also offers an ‘interlibrary loans’ service so that items held in other libraries in the UK can be made available to College members, and we can also arrange easier access to other libraries under the Sconul Access scheme.

We are fortunate to have a highly-qualified team of library staff, who aim to help you use our resources effectively. All new students receive inductions to library resources and additional specific training can be offered throughout the year, often in liaison with lecturing staff.

IT Access

At the RAC, we see IT as an integral part of a student’s life here, be it for learning, presentations, research or communicating with family and friends.

We have four IT suites, one with 24-hour access. Two suites are housed in the library with many access points available for laptop plugin. We have wireless access for all students in teaching and research areas, as well as bedrooms.

With over 120 PCs for students, all with Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, Genstat, Read & Write 9 and Mindgenius to name but a few applications, there are plenty to go around. We also have specialised packages for geographical information systems (GIS), and several specialist agriculture management packages on most of these machines. Students have access to the internet from all computers on campus and from those in their bedrooms. We run a residential network for students on site and they are able to bring their own laptops, tablets and Smartphones and use the network for research and internet access. Students have their own printing accounts with black and white and colour printing available in the IT suites and can even print to the College printers from their own laptops and PCs now via web printing.

All lecture notes are available on Gateway, our virtual learning environment, which students can access from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night.