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Associate Membership: Home

Associate Membership (personal research / borrowing)

Associate Membership costs £50 a year and is available if you’re over 18 years of age and are not in full time education. If you are in full time education at another university, you may want to look at our SCONUL scheme information. Your application can take up to four weeks to process and we will be in touch by email with details on how to collect your card.

You can:

  • access the Learning Hub 24 hours a day
  • use all study spaces, including a dedicated silent area
  • bring your own device and use the wifi and charging points
  • borrow up to five four-week loans from our main collection.

You can't:

  • use our subscription electronic resources
  • borrow laptops and there are no PCs
  • print or use the photocopier
  • borrow one-week loans or from the School Experience Collection, Health kits, CDs and DVDs, Illustrated Books, Exhibition catalogues, Journals, Fowler and our Special Collection
  • reserve books 
  • book study rooms.

You must a complete online application form and provide the following documents:

  • 1 digital photo of yourself (head and shoulders)
  • 2 documents proving your name and address (like a recent utility bill, bank statement)
  • 1 form of photo ID (like a passport, photocard driver’s licence).

Photographs and documents submitted will be deleted upon collection of your access card. You will need to reapply each year and provide these documents for each application.


We welcome your membership but you must abide by all University of Northampton Policies and library rules, or we reserve the right to withdraw your membership. These include:

  • always wearing your ID card on your lanyard when in the Learning Hub
  • you may not bring other visitors with you; adults or children
  • you must respect students, staff and other users of the University of Northampton
  • if you choose to borrow books, you must keep your library account in good order, and you will be responsible for your loaned items
  • if you damage or lose a book, they are charged at a standard £40 / item.

Short Term LLS Membership

This membership is available if you have to complete a piece of work as part of your application to study at The University of Northampton, and will need a member of staff from within the relevant Faculty to act as a guarantor. It allows you to borrow up to five 4-week loans (not including DVDs or items from the School Experience Collection) at a time. It does not allow you to reserve books or rooms or to access printers, photocopiers, laptops, PCs or e-resources.

For queries regarding this membership, please contact library.membership@northampton.ac.uk