We hope your relationship with the library doesn't end on graduation day. We continue to provide support and resources to University of Aberdeen alumni, both online and in person. Use this guide to find the resources you have access to as part of our alumni community.
- Access to Online Resources
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As a member of the University of Aberdeen worldwide alumni community, you can access selected online resources and services provided by the University of Aberdeen Library.
Graduates can access full-text materials as held in the JSTOR and Project Muse collections. Books and primary sources supplement JSTOR’s digital library of back issues of academic journals. The collection covers many subject areas but is strongest in arts, humanities and life sciences. There is little coverage of engineering and technical disciplines. Further information is available from the University’s Alumni services web page.
To access the above resources, you will need to register for an account with the Alumni Hub once you have graduated. Note: Alumni access to resources is via the Alumni Hub for University of Aberdeen graduates, not via Primo.
If you live in Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS) provides access to a wide range of databases and full-text collections. Many are available remotely although some can only be accessed in person in their George IV Bridge location in Edinburgh. To access databases, register with the NLS here. To browse the available databases by subject here.
Additional Resources
Open Access resources are available for alumni without any registration. See guidance on using these here.
- RefWorks
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As part of our institutional subscription RefWorks permit graduates of the university to continue to use the software, which is useful for those who have invested time in creating a database, or who may be going on to use this software when in another organisation. If the University of Aberdeen were to cancel the subscription to RefWorks, then alumni access would cease.
What you should do before you leave us: Make sure that your RefWorks account has your personal email address on record rather than your University email. In RefWorks check the information in your Profile – click on Update Profile at the top right of the screen and make changes as required.
Once you have left us, you can continue to use www.refworks.com to log in.
Note 1: You may want to update RefWorks Citation Manager on your laptop before you leave, although you will be able to do this at any time once you have left as you are entitled to access upgrades as part of the alumni package.
- Library membership
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University of Aberdeen graduates – all disciplines
University of Aberdeen graduates may wish to apply for an external membership with the University of Aberdeen Library. You may also wish to consider applying to your local public library. Charges for membership with the UoA Library are as follows:
- Annual membership for Aberdeen graduates: £20 subscription + £30 deposit = £50
- Annual membership for Others: £40 subscription + £30 deposit = £70
External readers may borrow up to 10 items at a time, excluding items from the Heavy Demand and DVD collections. For more information on external memberships
Note: The deposit is returned when all books have been returned provided there are no outstanding fines.
Medical graduates
Medical graduates working for the NHS Grampian can join the Library and borrow material. To apply for membership, visit the Medical Library with your NHS Grampian ID badge and proof of the length of your contract. There are 4 dedicated PCs with an attached printer for NHS staff use on Floor 1 of the Medical Library. NHS Scotland employees also have access to the ‘Knowledge Network’, a digital library of electronic databases. For more information, please contact the Medical Library: T: +44 (0)1224 437870 Email: library@abdn.ac.uk
| The Sir Duncan Rice Library | Alumni Relations |
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University of Aberdeen |
University of Aberdeen |
Guide last updated: October 2025 by Varina Jones-Reid