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Bibliographic Reference and Information
Reading
Special Collections
Lending of Books
Interlibrary Loan
Support for the use of Library Information Systems
Research Desks
UC Accessible Library

Services

Bibliographic Reference and Information

It is intended to support users, in a personalised way, within the scope of their research, providing guidance in the selection of the most appropriate internal and external sources of information;
Receives suggestions and requests for bibliographic acquisitions;
Responds to requests for bibliographic and documentary information, sent to the email gabref@bg.uc.pt, or by telephone +351 239 247 284.

Reading

The Reading Services of the General Library of the University of Coimbra include the Catalogue Room, Reference Office, General Reading Room, Research Desks, and the Manuscripts and Rare Books Reading Room.

The following services are provided and made available in the Catalogue Room:

Service to users and help in accessing internal and external information.

Referral of users of manuscripts and special collections.

Search access:

SIIB/UC - Integrated Bibliographic Information System of the University of Coimbra;
PORBASE - National Bibliographic Database;
b-on - Online Knowledge Library;
Diário da República Electrónico [Electronic Republic Gazette];
INE Access Point – National Statistics Institute.

In SIIB/UC database, it is possible to search only in the General Library catalogue, which includes information on national and foreign documents acquired from 1987 onwards, and also part of the already converted information contained in conventional catalogues.

For documentation existing in the BGUC, but not available in the SIIB/UC database, users have at their disposal the following conventional catalogues, in typed and handwritten sheets:

1. Monographs

— Authors and titles, manuscript catalogue, which includes information on national and foreign bibliography, up to and including 1957, to be consulted by library staff. With a significant part of its information already converted and integrated into the SIIB/UC, the manuscript catalogue was microfilmed and digitised, and will soon be available for consultation via the Internet;

— Authors and titles, typewritten catalogue, which includes information on national and foreign bibliography entered in the Library between 1958 and 1987 inclusive; this catalogue is freely accessible;

— Alphabetical of materials, typed and reprographed catalogue, which includes information about the chronological period of the previous one and which is also freely accessible.

2. Serial publications

— Titles, typewritten catalogue, which includes information on national and foreign bibliography published between 1970 and 1988.

— A list of titles of Microfilmed Periodical Publications is also available.

3. Printed catalogues

— Restricted Access Items Catalogue

— Manuscript Catalogue

— Catalogue of the Collection of Miscellanies

— Catalogue of the Old Collection of Liceu José Falcão

— 16th-century editions by Damião de Góis and André de Resende existing in the General Library of the University of Coimbra

— Inquisition: collections, regulations, sermons and lists of autos-da-fé existing at Library of Visconde da Trindade

— Restoration: Catalogue of the Library of Visconde da Trindade

— Portuguese periodical publications in the General Library of the University of Coimbra (1641–1945)

Reproduction of consulted works:

Placed in the corridor between the Catalogue counter and the general Reading Room, there is a photocopier (A4 format only) and a scanner, to be used on a self-service basis (cf. Regulamento e Tabela de Preços);
Self-service photocopying requires prior authorization from the staff on duty.
Users are responsible for complying with the Copyright and Related Rights Code and all legislation applicable to the reproduction of documents, both national and international. The General Library is not responsible for any violation of the Law.

Please note:

The period for receiving requests for in-house reading runs from 9:00 am to 12:15 pm and from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with consultations being possible until 10:00 pm;
Users who wish to consult works between 5:30 pm and 10:00 pm, but who cannot make in-person requests within the stipulated time, may send their requests by email to gabref@bg.uc.pt, until 4:30 pm on the same day.

Special Collections

In addition to the General Collection (documents acquired by purchase, donation or exchange) and all the documentation received through Legal Deposit, the holdings of the General Library of the Univeristy of Coimbra include well-defined sets, with multiple provenances, which consist of the following special collections: Restricted Access Items; Manuscripts; Manuscript and Printed Music Collection; Collection of Miscellanies; Library of the Colégio de São Pedro (16th-19th C); Library and personal papers of Colonel Belisário Pimenta; Library of Luís de Albuquerque; Library of Manuel Lopes de Almeida; Library of Maria Augusta Barbosa (musical science); Library of Pedro de Moura e Sá; Library of Oliveira Martins; Library of Lieutenant Manuel Joaquim (musical science); Library of Visconde da Trindade (old books); Collection of Colonel José Pires da Silva; Collection of José Vicente Gomes de Moura (Abraveia); Collection of Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcelos and Joaquim de Vasconcelos; Collection of Armando Cortesão; Collection of the Instituto de Coimbra and Júlio Castilho Archive; Vida de Coimbra and Library Science Room and Jorge Peixoto's History of the Press Collection, Library of Mendes dos Remédios; Collection of Calvet de Magalhães; Epistolary of Eugénio de Castro; Epistolary of Francisco Augusto Martins de Carvalho; Archive of Mário de Figueiredo; Collection of Maria Helena da Rocha Pereira, among others. The holdings of the General Library also include collections of maps, prints, coins, medals, ex-libris, postcards, etc.

BGUC is also the depository of works published by international institutions, such as the UN, OECD, FAO and GATT, received until 2020.

Lending of Books

The Lending of Books from the General Library of the University of Coimbra follows the Regulation for Book Lending of the Libraries of the University of Coimbra, approved by deliberation of the UC Senate, on December 6, 2006, with the following specifications:

All members of the university community and other people duly authorised by BGUC can be users of this service;
Monographs published after 1970 can be borrowed for home reading, with the exception of those the BGUC classifies as not available for lending due to their bibliographic or material value.

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan is defined, in its general principles, by IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). However, it depends on specific regulations that vary from country to country and within particular sectors.

This service deals with requests for monographs, photocopies, scans and bibliographical research inquiries, received by post, by e-mail gabref@bg.uc.pt or telephone +351 239 247 284, from other libraries or by forwarding user requests to other national or foreign libraries.

Rules to observe:

The request for a document through this service must be made at the Reference Office, by filling out a form for that purpose, or by mail, through another library located elsewhere in the country or abroad;
The interlibrary loan request involves postage costs and payment for services to the libraries providing the documents. The request must, therefore, be accompanied by the amounts shown in a specific service cost table and the payment of the stipulated deposit;
Payment for services to the libraries providing documents will depend on the price and payment method they stipulate. The amounts paid by the user will be returned if the loan does not involve charges;
Payment for photocopies for some national and international services can be made using IFLA vouchers;
Documents requested under interlibrary loan cannot be borrowed for home reading or taken out of the Library.

Support for the use of Library Information Systems

It is intended to support members of the UC community and all users who need to solve issues related to the Estudo Geral repository and the AlmaMater digital library;
It is intended to support members of the UC community in matters related to b-on (Knowledge Library);
Responds to requests for information sent to the email helpdesk_sibuc@ci.uc.pt.

Research Desks

16 workplaces, to be occupied primarily by researchers from the University of Coimbra and exceptionally by external researchers, and which must be used according to specific rules.

UC Accessible Library

Opened on 3 December 2021, International Day of People with Disabilities, the UC Accessible Library operates on the floor of the Reading Room of the General Library, with equipment aimed at two groups of users: on the one hand, readers with visual impairment and blindness; on the other, readers with neuromotor disabilities.

The setting up of this space resulted from a partnership between the UC and the Altice Foundation and «it is a room that was designed to allow students to access materials quickly and effectively», as mentioned by Ana Estelita, director of the Altice Foundation, at the inauguration.

The UC Rector, Amílcar Falcão, highlighted that at the University of Coimbra there are «several dozen people with varying degrees of disability, but even if only one person needed it, it would be enough to make it worthwhile», since equality, inclusivity and equity are "mission pillars" of the university.

This space is open from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.

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