Main Library opening hours 2026-27: phased introduction
Updated 26 October 2026 We have now moved to our regular opening hours for the Main Library: 8am-midnight Mon-Sun, with extended opening until 2am during revision weeks and the first week of exams.
However, for the first few weeks of semester, the opening hours will be 8am-10pm Mon-Fri and 9am-9pm Sat-Sun. This is due to having vacancies within the frontline teams which means we were unable to safely keep the building open later. We’re happy to say that we have now successfully filled our vacancies, and our new colleagues will be starting with us soon. This means that the standard hours of 8am-midnight Mon-Sun will be reinstated from Monday 26 October, just after Independent Learning Week.
St Mary’s College and King James Libraries will be open until 1am and the Thomson Reading Room in Martyrs Kirk until 1.30am, for those who need to study later. Space is also available in the Butts Wynd building on a 24/7 basis, including group study rooms, lounge areas and PC classrooms.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these temporarily reduced hours. Work has taken place over the summer to make changes to user-facing teams in the library to make our services more consistent, higher quality and more resilient. However, this meant that we had several vacancies for new roles, all of which have now been filled.
Any comments about this temporary reduction can be addressed to [email protected] or directly to Emma Wisher, Assistant Director (Academic Engagement and Student Experience) and Deputy Director of Libraries and Museums ([email protected])