The holidays will soon be upon us and we hope you enjoy the winter break. If you are thinking about studying and borrowing items over the holidays, here’s what you need to know.

Studying in the Library during the holidays

Augustine House, Canterbury

Augustine House will be open throughout the winter break, except for 24-26 December and 1 January when the building will be closed.

Date	Building	Library Point
23 December	7:00 – 17:00	9:00 – 17:00
24 – 26 December	Closed	Closed
27-31 December*	9:00 – 17:00	11:00 – 16:00
1 January	Closed	Closed
2 – 4 January*	9:00 – 17:00	11:00 – 16:00
5 January	Return to normal staffed and building opening hours.

Access arrangements

• Please note the building is operated under access control throughout the vacation period,
• Students and staff should ensure they bring their University ID card to access the building during these times.
• Paid, SCONUL, ex-staff and alumni members should keep their library card on them at all times and will need to present their card when entering the building. Please use the intercom for access.
• Visitors should report to reception upon arrival and complete a visitor registration form. Please use the intercom for access.

Salomons Institute Library, Tunbridge Wells

Salomons Library will close at 16:30 on Tuesday 23 December 2025 and reopen at 8:00 on Monday 5 January 2026.

Drill Hall Library, Medway

With the end of term at Medway on Friday 12 December the library will be operating reduced opening hours as follows:

Date	Building	Opening Hours
13 – 23 December	Drill Hall Library	09:00 – 17:00
24 – 26 December	Closed	Closed
27 – 31 December	C block only*	10:00 – 16:00
1 January	Closed	Closed
2 – 4 January	Drill Hall Library	10:00 – 16:00

* Entry to C block spaces will be available via the library building C block entrance which is located adjacent to the car park barriers. These spaces will be available upon presentation of a valid University ID card only. Please note that during this period there will be no access to the main library floor for books, printers, scanners or catering facilities but book returns will be available in C block. There will be no access to any of our external access membership holders.

The area will be supervised and patrolled by security staff and monitored by CCTV. For security purposes you must present your valid student ID card to be permitted entry, we will be operating a no card, no entry policy.

Term Time operating hours resume from Monday 5 January 2026. See the Drill Hall Library web pages for details.

Return dates

No items will be due for return during the winter break. Any items which would be due between 21 December and 5 January will have their borrowing period automatically extended to the 6 January instead.

Intersite loans, document delivery and suggest an e-book

If you need to borrow an item from another campus before the holiday break, we recommend a reservation is placed no later than Friday 12 December. Please note there is no courier service during the main holiday period and no access to book stock at the Salomons and Drill Hall libraries at certain times (see opening hours above).

Requests for physical document delivery items should be made no later than Friday 28 November. The postal service is much busier at this time of year, so we cannot guarantee delivery dates of items but will make every effort to fulfill requests.

Requests for digital items to be supplied before the winter holidays either through document delivery or suggest an e-book should be made no later than Friday 12 December. Any subsequent requests will start to be processed from Monday 5 January onward.

Before you go away

If you are going to be away from campus for the holidays, here are our top tips of what to do before you go away:

• Return any books you do not need or have been reserved by another user.
• If you have a 7-day loan, check to see if there is a longer 4-week loan available.
• Check LibrarySearch to see if there is an e-book you could use instead of a print copy while you’re away.

While you are away…

• Your items will automatically renew unless they are reserved. No loans will be due from Saturday 20 December to Sunday 4 January inclusive.
• If you have returned home and found that one of your items has already been reserved, please contact us for help. Email us on library.canterbury@canterbury.ac.uk or call 01227 922352.

Essential winter reading

• Our Digital Library is available to support your assignments. Access e-books, e-journals and more through LibrarySearch.
• Why not try and complete some of the modules on the Learning Skills hub over the break? Each module will offer you the opportunity to develop the skills you need to make your time at university a success.
• Relax with some leisure reads. Install the Libby app and take advantage of free access to a range of e-books, audiobooks, magazines and graphic novels. You can also subscribe to iNDIEFLIX and Qello Concerts for free.

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