Welcome to the University of Dundee Library! We understand how daunting your first few weeks at university can be. Settling into a new environment is challenging. You could be fresh out of school, a returning, mature or international student. You may live in or near the city of Dundee, but this may be your first time setting foot on campus. Or this may be your first time in Dundee or even the UK. In any case, we want you to feel prepared, informed and ready to tackle new challenges during your studies and homelife. It’s the National Year of Reading 2026. ‘A UK-wide campaign designed to help people rediscover the joy of reading’. The tagline of the campaign is Go All In. In the spirit of this, we have produced a reading list of print and eBooks to help you navigate the start of semester and beyond.
It includes a mixture of books on:
· student life
· study skills
· cooking and nutrition
· mental health and wellness
· degree specific books
that will help support you on your journey at Dundee University. The list will be updated as the year progresses.
You can see a carousel of the books here
Included on the reading list are some non-book related options including:
· links to the University Museum and culture online
· walking and cycling trails related to Dundee city and the university
· information about a zine collection
· links to CreateSpace a room equipped in the Main library with a variety of specialist tools free to use
· Contact for student services and urgent out of hours support phone numbers
There is a selected display of print books from the list in the foyer of the Main Library.
There are also displays at the site libraries across Dundee and Fife. The site libraries are available to all students to study in:
· Robertson Trust Medical Library located in Ninewells Hospital & Medical School
· Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) Library based at the art college on Perth Road, Dundee
· Kirkcaldy Campus Library located on Forth Avenue on the first floor of the Fife campus
You will find yourself spending a lot of time in the library over the next few years. It’s a great place to not only study in peace but collaboratively with your peers.
The Main Library is a comfortable and welcoming space for group projects and silent spaces to get your work done. Each floor has a different sound rating:
1. group study ground floor (quiet conversations)
2. quiet study middle floor (low voices)
3. silent study top floor (no conversations or noise).
There’s also a library café where food and your favourite beverages can be purchased. It’s a light and open space to take those much-needed breaks and catch up with friends.
On the ground floor you’ll find the Leisure reading collection. This contains both fiction and non-fiction leisure reading. This is where you will find many of the books from your student support reading list. Hold requests can be placed on any of the print titles in the display cabinets and collected in the main foyer. Consult Borrowing from the library for further information. There are leisure reading collections at each of the site libraries as well. We also have a way for you to take control of your own reading through the Recommend a resource mailbox. Email morebooks@dundee.ac.uk to recommend books for your course. Providing the cost is reasonable we will do our best to purchase these for library stock. This also includes books for the leisure reading collection. We recognise how important it is to switch off from your studies and relax with a good book!
Most of all we want you to enjoy your time at the University of Dundee and come to love this city as much as we do. There is always help here in the library when you need it and our staff will do our best to help with any query.
We’d wish you good luck, but you won’t need it! You’ve got this and we’ve got you – Go All In!
